NEWS
WEDNESDAY, OCTOBER 30, 2019
HERMISTONHERALD.COM • A7
Good Shepherd implementing health plan
By JADE MCDOWELL
NEWS EDITOR
Good Shepherd Health
Care System is working to
implement new programs
and practices based on data
gathered through a coun-
ty-wide survey on health.
Good Shepherd and St.
Anthony Hospital in Pend-
leton teamed up to sur-
vey Umatilla County resi-
dents about topics ranging
from drug use to diabe-
tes. More than 750 surveys
about adults and children in
English and Spanish were
returned. The hospitals and
other area health organiza-
tions have used that infor-
mation this year to each put
together their own “com-
munity health improvement
plan.”
“The goal is to work
together,” said Juli Greg-
ory, director of education
for Good Shepherd. “We
want everyone’s health to
improve.”
She
and
commu-
nity health educator Jes-
sica Reker presented Good
Shepherd’s CHIP to the
Healthy Communities Coa-
lition on Wednesday. Based
on the biggest areas of con-
cern in the survey results,
the focus for the plan is on
health equity, access to ser-
vices, obesity, chronic dis-
ease, violence and behav-
ioral health.
Reker said 71% of adults
surveyed said they have left
Umatilla County to seek
medical care. Other issues
surrounding access to care
included high numbers of
adults reporting they did not
have insurance, and/or had
visited the emergency room
for something that could
have been taken care of in a
more cost-effective setting.
Good Shepherd plans to
increase its efforts to edu-
cate people about when it is
appropriate to seek care at
an emergency room, urgent
care clinic or primary care
provider. Reker said they
will also continue to recruit
new physicians to be able
to serve more people in the
county, and make urgent
care more available.
“We can expand hours,”
she said.
They will also implement
“health literacy and cultural
humility” trainings for staff,
after only 72% of adults on
the English survey and 53%
of adults on the Spanish
survey said their provider
explained things in a way
Staff photo by Jade McDowell
Good Shepherd Health Care System is holding its annual
community meeting Wednesday.
they can understand.
Many of the steps Good
Shepherd is taking involve
increased community edu-
cation through free classes,
informational booths, pro-
motional materials and other
steps. For example, the com-
munity health survey found
that 58% of adults and 47%
of children drank at least
one sugar-sweetened bever-
age, such as soda, per day.
Gregory said in response the
hospital has created a dis-
Natural gas rates to increase
By JADE MCDOWELL
NEWS EDITOR
The Oregon Public Utility
Commission has approved a
rate increase for the state’s
three regulated utilities,
including Cascade Natural
Gas, starting Nov. 1.
According to a news
release by the commission,
the cost of natural gas being
supplied to the utilities
“spiked” over the last year
due to a pipeline explosion
that affected the regional
supply. In the past 10 years,
the commission stated, Ore-
gon residents have seen a
decrease in their rates, other
than in 2013 and 2014.
PUC
chair
Megan
Decker said in a statement
that they appreciated those
who testifi ed to remind
the committee that rate
increases impact customers
negatively.
“We recognize that exist-
ing low-income programs
are inadequate at meeting
the needs of all customers
to help address adjustments
in rates, but we’ll continue
to fi nd ways to close that
gap,” she said.
Cascade Natural Gas,
which serves Hermiston
and Pendleton, received
approval for an overall
increase of 8.5%, raising
$5.3 million. Residential
customers using 62 therms
per month will increase
from $46.69 to $50.58.
Commercial
custom-
ers using 264 therms per
month will see an increase
of 11.5%, from $156.73
to $174.69. Industrial cus-
tomers using 1,742 therms
per month will see their bill
increase from $983.63 to
$1,119.13.
play on the health effects of
sugary drinks and is bring-
ing it to community educa-
tion events.
“It’s been a wow
moment,” she said. “It’s
visually very powerful when
you realize how much sugar
is in one of these drinks.”
The hospital also plans
to mail vouchers to com-
munity members for A1c/
Lipid screenings, and create
a community-wide strategic
plan for cancer prevention.
“That was well received,
and we plan to do it again,”
Gregory said.
The full community
health improvement plan
can be found online at
http://www.gshealth.org/
wp-content/uploads/gschf-
cap_2019.pdf. The results
of the community survey
can be found at http://www.
gshealth.org/wp-content/
uploads/Umatilla_County_
CHA_7-26-19.pdf.
The hospital is holding its
second annual community
meeting Wednesday.
The event takes place in
the Hermiston High School
commons and auditorium.
The event will include a
health fair with free fl u
shots, educational booths,
food, prizes and more
from 5-6 p.m. followed
by a keynote address by
Marcus Engel, a national
speaker, adjunct professor
at the University of Notre
Dame and the author of
fi ve books, including “The
Other End of the Stetho-
scope,” which is the title of
his presentation.
To attend the free event,
RSVP to 541-667-3509 or
register online at gshcsan-
nualcommunitymeeting.
eventbrite.com.
Reker said the hospital
will step up its efforts on the
“Start by Believing” pub-
lic education campaign on
sexual assault after 8% of
adults on the English sur-
vey and 14% surveyed in
Spanish said they had been
forced to have sexual inter-
course against their will at
some point in their life. They
will also integrate questions
about violence and sex-
ual abuse into their intake
processes.
Reker said 17% of
adults surveyed in Umatilla
County self-reported mis-
using prescription medica-
tions, either by taking med-
icines not prescribed to them
or using them with the sole
intent to get high. The hos-
pital will work to “ensure
uniform compliance” with
its prescription policies, she
said.
As part of the community
health improvement plan,
Good Shepherd recently set
up a prescription medication
disposal box at its pharmacy.
Staff are also being trained
to administer Naloxone,
which reverses the effects
of an opioid overdose, and
the hospital recently held a
training that was open to the
community.
Lifeways announces purchase
of former medical offi ce
HERMISTON HERALD
Aspen Springs Psychi-
atric Hospital is open for
public tours ahead of its
opening later this year.
The facility, located
at 1212 W. Linda Ave. in
Hermiston, will provide
Eastern Oregon with 16
beds for inpatient services
for individuals experienc-
ing a severe and persistent
mental health crisis.
According to the release
from Lifeways, which
runs the facility, patients
“will receive high-qual-
ity, individualized care
in a state-of the-art facil-
ity designed to provide
a safe place for psychi-
atric recovery and stabi-
lization” under 24-hour
supervision.
Tours are available by
calling
541-289-2340,
Monday through Friday,
8 a.m. to 5 p.m.
Lifeways
also
announced Monday that
it has purchased the for-
mer St. Anthony Medical
Offi ce in Pendleton.
The press release said
that the behavioral health
agency plans to use the
building to combine all its
services into one location
in Pendleton and expand
its services. According
to the release, the agency
will renovate and move
into the building in phases.
“We look forward to
continuing to serve our
community from a location
that enhances the environ-
ment in which the commu-
nity can receive services,”
the release said.
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620 NW 11th Street,
Suite 201
Hermiston, OR 97838