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About Hermiston herald. (Hermiston, Or.) 1994-current | View Entire Issue (Nov. 13, 2019)
BUSINESS NEWS A8 • HERMISTONHERALD.COM WEDNESDAY, NOVEMBER 13, 2019 Psychiatric hospital designed with patient safety in mind By JADE MCDOWELL NEWS EDITOR When Eastern Ore- gon residents experience a severe mental health cri- sis, they will soon be able to receive inpatient treatment at a local facility designed to keep them as safe as possible. At the new Aspen Springs Psychiatric Hospi- tal in Hermiston, even the landscaping in the courtyard was given special thought. “All of our plants out here are non-toxic and also edible, so if a patient were to try to eat them they would not be harmed,” Lifeways director Micaela Cathey said. The hospital will start taking patients sometime in the fi rst quarter of 2020, after it is fully staffed, but for now Lifeways is offer- ing tours to the public. During a tour Monday, Cathey pointed out how everything from chairs to door handles to railings present a unique shape, fl owing smoothly together with nowhere someone could tie a piece of clothing to try to injure themselves. Patients will be searched and given special clothing when they enter the facil- Staff photo by Ben Lonergan Lifeways is preparing to open their newly constructed Aspen Springs Psychiatric Hospital at 1212 W. Linda Ave. in Hermiston. The facility will provide 16 private rooms available for residents experiencing a severe mental health crisis. Image courtesy of Cheryl McIntosh, DONE, LLC The 16 private patient rooms feature attached bathrooms with fl exible mat doors that provide privacy without allowing people to barricade themselves inside. ity. Soft rubber hooks in the 16 private rooms can’t hold more than a T-shirt’s weight. Each of the individual rooms — decorated with a mural of an aspen tree — has a small bathroom with sink and toilet, walled off with a fl exible mat attached to the wall by velcro, pro- viding visual privacy with- out allowing people to bar- ricade themselves inside. In the center of the two hallways is a lounge area where patients can play board games, watch tele- vision, eat meals or social- ize. A smaller “refl ection room” allows for a quieter atmosphere, and the super- vised courtyard with anti- climb fencing offers fresh air. There are also rooms where patients can meet with their therapist and/or family members. Cathey said Lifeways is “pretty proud” of the hospital. “It’s somewhere we would want our family or ourselves to come here, should the need arise,” she said. “We tried to make it as home-like as possible.” Before the state does its fi nal sign-off to open the facility, it needs to be fully staffed. Cathey said recruit- ing positions such as psy- chiatrists and masters-level therapists can be diffi cult in a rural area, so if anyone is interested in working for Aspen Springs they should give Lifeways a call. She said the hospital will be staffed around the clock, with 12-14 staff during the day and about half that num- ber at night. The average patient will stay fi ve to eight nights. While Umatilla County resi- dents in crisis have been sent out of the area for hospital- ization in the past, Cathey said, their discharge will now be easier to plan while their therapist, medical pro- vider, family and friends are in the same town or county. “We will serve the entire state, since psychiatric beds are at a premium, but the goal is to serve the com- munity fi rst and foremost, meaning Eastern Oregon as a whole,” she said. Umatilla Electric joins its voice with co-ops nationwide to protect nonprofi t status By KATY NESBITT FOR THE HERMISTON HERALD Umatilla Electric of Hermiston is one of doz- ens of electric cooperatives across the nation supporting passage of a bill in Congress aimed at protecting their nonprofi t status. The cooperatives are ask- ing members of the House of Representatives to pass the “Revitalizing Underde- veloped Rural Areas and Lands Act,” also known as House Bill 2147 and Senate Bill 1032. The bills were proposed to fi x what Steve Myers, Umatilla Electric mem- ber services administrator, called “an unintended con- sequence of the 2017 tax law.” Meyers said Oregon’s other electric cooperatives — which are collectively represented by the Ore- gon Rural Electric Coop- erative Association — are urging Congress to pass the RURAL Act. He said the co-ops are also ask- ing their customers to con- tact their congressional rep- resentatives, as well, to ask them to vote on the bills in the respective houses of Congress. “We have joined other electric cooperatives in Ore- gon and around the U.S. in supporting this legisla- tion, and we would appre- ciate any local support for passage of the Revi- talizing Underdeveloped Rural Areas and Lands Act (RURAL) Act,” Myers said. An effort has been under- way since this past summer, Myers said, and Oregon Rural Electric Cooperative Association, various elec- tric-co-op managers, board members and other staff from co-ops met with leg- islators in D.C. and sent letters and emails urging passage. The concern stems from a provision in the 2017 “Tax Cuts and Jobs Act” that con- siders federal, state and local grants as “non-mem- ber income” and poten- tially taxable for electric cooperatives. Ted Case, executive director of the Oregon Rural Electric Cooperative Asso- ciation, said in his online newsletter, the RURAL Act is “no run-of-the-mill piece of legislation.” “The RURAL Act allows co-ops to receive grants for a host of programs — includ- ing disaster aid, broadband and economic development — without losing their tax exempt status,” he said. “It’s a complicated tax issue. What you need to know is that this bill needs to pass. And soon. The Oregon del- egation with its incredi- ble seniority and clout is well-positioned to make it happen. Our senior sena- tor, Ron Wyden, is the rank- ing member of the Senate Finance Committee.” Before passage of the 2017 tax law state and fed- eral grants that helped elec- tric co-ops restore service and rebuild electrical infra- structures after a disaster or expand broadband to under- served rural areas were defi ned as “capital” and not “income.” Electric coopera- tives serving 19 million cus- tomers banded together to encourage Congress to pass the Revitalizing Underde- veloped Rural Areas and Lands Act. In order to be considered tax-exempt, electric cooper- atives must receive at least 85% of their income from their members. If a co-op receives fi nancial support from an agency like the Federal Emergency Man- agement Agency follow- ing a storm or wildfi re that increases its non-member income more than 15%, it is at risk of being taxed. To address this provision in the 2017 tax bill a biparti- san group from Oregon’s congressional delegation — U.S. Representatives Earl Blumenauer, Peter DeFazio, Kurt Schrader and Greg Walden — co-spon- sored the bill. Myeres said the Oregon co-ops are also looking to Sen. Ron Wyden, the ranking mem- ber of the Finance Com- mittee, and Oregon electric co-ops for help. “This summer we urged our federal legisla- tors, especially Sen. Ron Wyden, to support the pro- posed law that would pro- tect electric cooperatives’ tax-exempt status when they receive state or federal grants,” Myers said. Wyden said he fought to strip the new tax on rural electric co-ops from the 2017 tax bill, something he called a “serious concern for electric co-ops and their customers.” The new bicameral bill aims to eliminate it. PET OF THE W EEK Danny is an adorable 9 week old pup who is going to be a big boy! He is current on vaccines, wormed and scheduled for neuter and microchip. He is Husky, Lab and Border Collie mix. Please research the breeds before applying. He will grow quite large and needs room to run and get regular exercise. Fence is required. “While the supporters of the 2017 law would not lis- ten beforehand to my com- mon-sense solutions to protect organizations that receive federal aid from getting hit with surprise tax bills, I remain open to sitting down with my col- leagues to address the long list of problems in this deeply fl awed tax scheme, including protections to ensure ratepayers aren’t the ones suffering from this bad bill,” Wyden said. Staff photo by Ben Lonergan Umatilla Electric Cooperative of Hermiston is one of many electric cooperatives expressing their support for House Bill 2147 and Senate Bill 1032 which would help protect the nonprofi t status of the cooperative. GET BIG SAVINGS FOR YOUR SMALL BUSINESS. BRING US IN. Energy Trust of Oregon provides cash incentives to commercial businesses—making energy-saving upgrades to foodservice equipment, MEET DANNY HVAC and water heating, boilers and insulation more affordable. + SAVE ENERGY. BRING US IN. Mark Sargent, DVM • Brent Barton, DVM Eugenio Mannucci, DVM, cVMA • Jana von Borstel, DVM, cVMA Small and Large Animal Care Mon: 8-6 Tue - Fri: 8-5 Sat: 8-12 Emergency Service 541.567.1138 80489 Hwy 395 N Hermiston www.oregontrailvet.com PLACE YOUR AD HERE! Contact Audra at 541.564.4538 Today! If interested please go to fuzzballrescue.com and fill out an application. If you are not able to adopt, but would like to foster or donate, visit fuzzballrescue.com or you can mail in donations to Fuzz Ball Animal Rescue, PO Box 580, Hermiston, OR 97838 Visit www.energytrust.org/BringUsIn or call 1.866.605.1676. Serving customers of Portland General Electric, Pacific Power, NW Natural, Cascade Natural Gas and Avista.
