WEDNESDAY, OCTOBER 17, 2018
Ellwood returns for homecoming
festivities during cancer treatment
By JAYATI RAMAKRISHNAN
STAFF WRITER
For the last six months,
Jasmine Ellwood has faced
some challenges bigger than
term papers and state tests.
The Hermiston High
School junior has been out
of school since April bat-
tling Ewing sarcoma, a type
of bone cancer. As daily
events like sporting events
and dance practice were
replaced by trips to Portland
and chemotherapy, a group
of her friends and classmates
got together and nominated
her for a high school tradi-
tion: the homecoming court.
Ellwood, 16, was elected
homecoming princess for
the junior class, and was in
Hermiston last week attend-
ing events such as mud wars,
the homecoming assembly
Thursday and the football
game Friday night.
Ellwood said she was
pleasantly surprised by the
nomination. Her sister, Aly-
sha, started a social media
campaign, which encour-
aged others to vote for
Ellwood.
“I was thinking about
everything
she’s
been
through, and how her life has
changed,” Alysha said. “I
went on Twitter, and started
posting about electing her.
And it really took off.”
Ellwood’s
mother,
Cindy, said the family was
grateful for the support
they’ve received from the
community.
“I thought it was pretty
special this happened,”
Cindy said. “Her whole
world got turned upside
down. To have this going on
— it is a big deal. It lets her
know she’s still a part of the
high school, the community.
Just letting her know, we’re
Without looking at the
name, the Blue Mountain
Community College Veter-
ans Resource Center would
look like a lot of study
spaces at the college’s Pend-
leton campus.
The room includes some
desktop computers, a pair of
couches, a mini-fridge, and a
couple of offices. But a key
signifier of the veterans cen-
ter’s intent is represented by
a picture hung on the wall
— a painting made by Jacob
Gunnels, a BMCC alum and
a veteran.
The painting features a
man in a red mask and an
Army jacket holding a large
gun, comforted by a woman
in a white mask.
In a caption that accom-
panies the painting, Gun-
nels said he’s the man in
the red mask, which rep-
New Good Shepherd
records system to
provide patient tools
By JADE MCDOWELL
STAFF WRITER
STAFF PHOTOS BY E.J. HARRIS
Junior prince Kelson Robertson opens the door for junior princess Jasmine Ellwood during
the halftime ceremony of the Homecoming game on Friday in Hermiston. Ellwood has been
out of school since April battling Ewing sarcoma, a type of bone cancer.
Junior prince Kelson Robertson and junior princess Jasmine
Ellwood watch the Homecoming ceremony on Friday at
Kennison Field in Hermiston.
still thinking about you, we
love you.”
Ellwood has continued to
take classes online, but her
schooling has been inter-
rupted as she spends days
at a time in Portland. Right
now, her mother said, she is
doing fairly well, and should
be finished with chemother-
apy in December or Janu-
ary. But, with fluctuating
blood cell counts making
her susceptible to infection,
she will likely not return to
school full-time for a while.
Since her diagnosis, she
and her family have spent
most of their time in Port-
land, where Ellwood has
received chemotherapy and
radiation therapy at Doern-
becher Children’s Hospital.
Over the course of 31 ses-
sions of radiation treatment,
she and her family had to
stay in Portland at the Ron-
ald McDonald House, a pro-
gram that provides housing
for families and children bat-
tling illnesses who have to
travel out of town for care.
Ellwood said she has
stayed positive, going to
school events when she can.
But she said what’s helped
her most has been the famil-
iarity of coming back to
Hermiston.
“I think the thing that’s
helped me the most is being
able to be at home with my
friends and family,” she
said. “I’m in the best mood
because it feels normal
again.”
BMCC provides vets with a space of their own
By ANTONIO SIERRA
STAFF WRITER
HERMISTONHERALD.COM • A3
COMMUNITY
resents “blood,” “anger,”
and “pain.”
“She wears a white one
representing purity and light
in the darkness,” the cap-
tion reads. “I am facing the
darkness, but she is there to
pull me back, the light, the
strength. But in the end she
leaves, the burden is too
much. All the weight falls
back on me.”
The title of the painting is
“22 is 22 Too Many,” a ref-
erence to U.S. Department
of Veterans Affairs study
that found that 22 veterans
die of suicide per day.
Roman Olivera, the direc-
tor of BMCC’s student sup-
port services program, said a
veterans advisory committee
worked on the resource cen-
ter for the past five years.
Olivera said he vis-
ited other veterans centers
and figure out their best
practices.
Thanks to a $50,500 grant
from the state, BMCC was
able to open the center this
year, which features mento-
ring and tutoring resources
in addition to being a space
where veterans can meet and
socialize.
We have fresh Fall
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HWY 395, HERMISTON • 541-567-4305
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COMMISSIONER
GEORGE MURDOCK
IS FOCUSED ON
UMATILLA COUNTY
“He’s my go-to guy.”
Terry Rowan, Umatilla County Sheriff
“We absolutely have to keep Commissioner Murdock in the Courthouse.”
Dan Primus, Umatilla County District Attorney
5 Theater Cineplex
DECORATE FOR FALL
Patients of Good Shep-
herd Health Care System
will have easier access to
their health care informa-
tion as the hospital and
its clinics switch to a new
medical records system.
The
new
system,
known as Epic, goes live
on Nov. 3. While it rep-
resents a massive change
for employees who are
currently training for the
switch, it will also repre-
sent new tools for patients.
Jim Schlenker, chief
operating officer of Good
Shepherd, said the new
system comes with a “My
Health” patient portal that
can be accessed online 24
hours a day. Through that
portal, patients will be able
to see open time slots for
their doctor and schedule
their own appointments.
They will also be able to
access test results and bill-
ing information, request
prescription refills and
message their provider fol-
low-up questions about
their visits.
“The portal will defi-
nitely add some tools that
more and more people are
coming to expect,” Schlen-
ker said.
The main advantage of
Epic, however, has to do
with seamless transfer of
records between medical
facilities, both within the
Good Shepherd family and
with other hospitals. CEO
Dennis Burke said that
most of the hospitals in the
Pacific Northwest, includ-
ing Kadlec Regional Medi-
cal Center in the Tri-Cities,
are on the Epic system.
That means if a Hermis-
ton resident gets referred to
a specialist in Portland, or
has a medical emergency
while vacationing on the
coast, the provider they are
seeing will be able to have
Check
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541-966-1850
Pendleton, OR I-84 - Exit 216
“Commissioner Murdock understands rural values and he understands
what it takes to balance a budget and yet listen to what people
think is important. He grew in a small town and graduated in a
class of 37 students.”
Toni Hamby, Pilot Rock
“I’ve worked closely with George Murdock since the day
I moved to Pendleton. At every step of the way, he is
focused on making a positive difference - whatever the project and
whatever the challenge.”
John Turner, mayor of Pendleton
“If government is going to work in Eastern Oregon, it is vital the cities
and the county are on the same page. Commissioner Murdock epitomizes
the idea of working together for the benefit
of not just Hermiston, but all of Umatilla County.”
Dave Drotzmann, mayor of Hermiston
Experience is the Difference
Umatilla County Commission Board Chair
George Murdock has earned a second full term
Paid for by Committee to Re-elect George Murdock, County Commissioner.
191 NW Johns Lane, Pendleton, OR 97801
Rogers Welcomes
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full access to their health
records.
“It’s a huge deal to be
able to see the big picture
and not have to rely on,
‘Can you fax this to me?’
and maybe you’ll get it in
an hour,” Schlenker said.
He said privacy laws
will still apply — someone
would have to be a patient
at one of those other clin-
ics or hospitals for a pro-
vider to look up their
information.
Burke said Good Shep-
herd’s current medical
records system has been a
good hospital system but
does not scale as well to
clinics. A steering com-
mittee of physicians spent
months researching differ-
ent systems and favored
Epic, but Good Shepherd
was too small to join Epic
on its own. In the end, the
hospital was able to transi-
tion to Epic because Leg-
acy Health, which owns
Legacy Emanuel Medi-
cal Center in Portland and
several other hospitals
around the state, agreed to
let Good Shepherd join its
“instance” of Epic.
“We’re deeply appreci-
ate of Legacy for allowing
us to partner with them,”
Burke said.
He said people have
been approaching him say-
ing they heard a rumor
that Legacy was acquiring
Good Shepherd, but that
is not the case. The hos-
pital is merely contract-
ing with Legacy on medi-
cal records and will remain
independently owned and
operated.
Schlenker said the hos-
pital has invested more
than $3.2 million into
Epic, but it is expected to
be a significant benefit to
the hospital and patients.
He asked that people be
patient with any hiccups
that happen as the system
goes online.
Stop by Rogers Toyota of
Hermiston and join us in
welcoming Luis to the
Rogers Family!
Luis Camarena
Magallon
Sales Associate • 707.396.1233