The winning design will be turned into a T-shirt and made available in the St. Charles Sparks store, just in time for the summer short-sleeves season.

Vote Today!

Official Rules

This contest is open only to St. Charles caregivers. We want to see your original design, not one created by artificial intelligence or your graphic artist friend. Also: Please don’t infringe on existing copyrights!

• Submissions are limited to one per caregiver.
• Visual submissions are required – no written descriptions of an idea – preferably uploaded as a digital file (JPG, PNG, TIFF, PSD, EPS, PDF) below. If you want to create something on paper, you can upload a photo of it. To drop off a physical submission, email [email protected].
• The design should not include references to any specific department(s). It should be proudly wearable by anyone and everyone at St. Charles.
• Submissions are due by March 18. Entries will be narrowed down by Communications and Marketing and finalists will be opened to a system-wide vote to determine the winner.
• Communications and Marketing will manipulate the winning entry as needed to create a print-ready file. Every effort will be made to retain the design and spirit of the caregiver’s original submission.
• The winning caregiver will not receive compensation other than a free T-shirt with their design and the satisfaction of seeing their design on their fellow St. Charles caregivers this summer and beyond.
• The winning design will be printed on a short-sleeved T-shirt, which will be made available in the St. Charles Sparks store in May.
• Winner will be announced during Health Care Week in May.
• Contest may not be won by the same caregiver in consecutive years.

Questions? Email [email protected].

“I didn’t ever want to leave St. Charles,” said Michael Teeters, a newly hired relief nurse in the St. Charles Bend Emergency Department. Originally from the East Coast, Teeters spent six years working as a traveling nurse at nine different hospitals across the country, but when he came to St. Charles, something felt different. After spending the last six months as a traveling nurse in Bend, he applied to be hired on as a permanent caregiver crediting the supportive team, the competitive compensation and the culture.

“St. Charles feels like home, like where I’m meant to be. The people that work here are incredible,” said Teeters.

A year ago, St. Charles – like hospitals across the nation – was experiencing a high vacancy rate, exacerbated by workforce shortages related to the pandemic and a nationwide shortage of nurses. To meet patient care needs, St. Charles brought in many expensive temporary nurses to cover key positions and ensure it had the right staffing levels to provide care for the community.

Today, St. Charles’ labor shortage is all but erased and the vacancy rate for acute care nurses is down to 6% (from a high of more than 20% in early 2023). One key factor in this turnaround is traveling nurses, like Teeters, opting to apply for permanent positions with St. Charles.

“These are highly skilled nurses who could find a home anywhere. They are choosing St. Charles – that speaks to our strong culture and competitive rates of pay,” said Rebecca Berry, Chief Human Resources Officer for St. Charles.

These so-called conversions (from traveling nurse to permanent caregiver) used to be extremely rare, but not anymore. In 2022, St. Charles hired four traveling nurses (commonly referred to as travelers in the medical community) into permanent positions. In 2023, that ballooned to 58 travelers into permanent positions and so far this year 18 travelers have already been hired into permanent spots. Converting travelers to permanent staff also cuts costs. Berry says this trend, along with robust recruitment and retention efforts and other programs, has helped propel a significant turnaround in the health and stability of the St. Charles workforce.

“I am so proud of the work we have put into creating a culture where highly qualified clinical caregivers want to stay and make Central Oregon their home and St. Charles their long-term employer,” said Berry. “Our goal now is to maintain that success and build on it so we have a consistent workforce pipeline into the future.”

Chris Collins, a Client Relations Manager for FocusOne, which provides traveling nurse staffing for hospitals across the country, says that the percentage of travelers converting to be permanent nurses at St. Charles is notable.

“With many of our clients typically experiencing conversion rates of less than 5%, St. Charles definitely stood out with their impressive 12% conversion rate in 2023. There are several likely factors that helped contribute to that success. Notably, St. Charles offers attractive pay packages and is situated in a location known for its picturesque scenery. However, it's the culture St. Charles has created that sets them apart and makes them attractive to those looking for a permanent position. St. Charles prioritizes fostering a welcoming environment, which resonates with travelers, as evidenced by the glowing reviews they receive. Travelers rate St. Charles highest in the categories of Friendliness Towards Travelers, Orientation and Staff Support,” said Collins.

A reliance on traveling nurses is part of what led to St. Charles' financial struggles in 2022. St. Charles expects to hire some travelers every year, as part of a natural demand during busy summer months, but the day-to-day reliance has shifted. In January and February of 2024, St. Charles onboarded just five new travelers. During the same period in 2022 and 2023, St. Charles onboarded 196 and 56 travelers, respectively.

Ryan Huebscher, assistant nurse manager for the Bend Emergency Department, said that the transition away from reliance on travelers has been noticeable. As evidence – when the ER recently posted a new RN position, numerous travelers applied.

“That speaks dramatically to the culture we have,” said Huebscher. “Nurses like working here, they like the team environment and ultimately want to make it their home base. It makes me really proud that so many travelers want to transition to permanent staff and call St. Charles their home.”

Suzi Bean, nurse manager for the ER in Madras, said that there were times in 2022 when some night shifts, there was only one St. Charles caregiver – the rest were travelers.

“Our crew is so happy to have a team they can build on,” said Bean. “The purpose our caregivers bring to the work they do and the investment they want to make in their community is huge. You can tell they live here, they want their loved ones, their neighbors and their friends to have good care.”

For Teeters, the decision to become a permanent St. Charles caregiver feels like a great fit. “The flow, the morale, the core staff – everything feels really good right now. I enjoy coming to work and I feel appreciated here.”

Total joint replacement is not a pain free surgery. We will work with you to minimize pain, but pain is a natural response to surgery and we cannot take your pain completely away.

Pain medications

Your nurse will work with you to help you be comfortable after surgery. The nurse will assess your pain with a pain scale from 0-10.  The goal is to take the sharp edge off the pain and allow you to function, i.e. get out of bed, exercise, and complete activities of daily living.

Managing your pain at home

Make sure you and your coach understand your physician instructions for pain medications in your discharge paperwork and on your medication bottles. Your pain may increase for a few days after you get home from the hospital. Use a medication chart to record medication usage.

In addition to medication, you can manage your pain by:

• Elevating your leg – toes above your nose.
• Use ice most of the time for the first 48 hours, then as needed for pain and swelling.
• Getting up and moving during the day for meals, showering, and exercises.

Risk of opioid dependency

Although opioids help relieve pain after total joint replacement surgery they are a narcotic and can be addictive. It is important to use opioids only as directed by your doctor. As soon as your pain begins to improve, stop taking opioids. Talk to your doctor if your pain has not begun to improve within a few days of your treatment.

Lucy Lawrence was in school to become a Medical Assistant when she first worked at St. Charles' La Pine Family Care clinic as part of a practicum rotation. She quickly came to love the team, culture and patients of La Pine, as well as the rewarding experience of serving a rural community. When a job opening came up after graduation, she leapt at the opportunity.

“I knew that La Pine was going to be such a fantastic fit for me, and I loved working for St. Charles when I was a student, so I couldn’t say no,” said Lawrence. “I really do have the best team. The culture in La Pine is something special. We are very closely knit, and everyone is a team player. We have so much fun with each other and I look forward to seeing them every day. We are all very driven by the work that we are doing, and we love what we do.”

Lawrence also spends part of her time as an assistant instructor at Central Oregon Community College, teaching clinical skills to St. Charles Medical Assistant cohorts, a program that pays for tuition in exchange for employment within the health system. She has always enjoyed teaching and she loves being on the other side and being able to pass on the knowledge she has gained working in the field.

“It’s so rewarding to see the students' progression, from being super nervous on the first day of labs, when they’re just learning how to properly wash their hands," Lawrence said, "all the way to the very end when they graduate and are doing these really complex clinical skills, and they are confident and ready to go into the field.”

Though she loves her career as a Medical Assistant, her goal has always been to learn as much as she can about medicine and have the skill set to make the greatest impact possible. With that in mind, she will be starting medical school at OHSU this fall to become a physician.

Along with an appreciation for her team, seeing the difference that the La Pine clinic makes in the health of the community is the most rewarding part of her job, she said. For many of Lawrence’s patients, regular access to health care has been limited due to geographic location or financial limitations, and chronic health conditions are common.

“A person’s health impacts every aspect of their life,” she said. “Poor health limits what you’re able to do, so by helping people become healthier we are positively impacting every part of their life and their ability to do what they want to do, from participating in their community to earning a living and being able to be there for their families.”

Enduring Materials - March 1, 2024      
"Addressing Firearm Safety with Patients at Risk of Suicide"

Speaker: Christopher Wolsko, PhD, Elizabeth Marino.

Access the Course Materials

Objectives

1. Recognize key elements of rural culture that impact conversations about firearms.
2. Identify communication skills to use when speaking with patients at risk of suicide about firearm safety.
3. Create a suicide prevention safety plan specific to firearms.
4. Identify skills specific to working with a patient who becomes defensive.
5. Identify actions steps when a patient becomes hostile and won’t engage with the provider.
6. Understanding the contributions to suicide risk.
7. Awareness of emerging trends in suicide risk and prevention.

Accreditation: This activity has been planned and implemented in accordance with the accreditation requirements and policies of the Accreditation Council for Continuing Medical Education (ACCME) through the joint providership of St. Charles Health System and OSU. St. Charles Health System is accredited by the ACCME to provide continuing medical education for physicians. St. Charles Health System designates this live virtual activity for a maximum of 1.0 AMA PRA Category 1 Credits™. Physicians should claim only the credit commensurate with the extent of their participation in the activity.

The period to claim credit for this activity expires one year after its original publication. Physicians should claim only the credit commensurate with the extent of their participation in the activity.

Claim Credit

Starting July 26, 2024, the course is approved to meet Oregon Health Authority Cultural Competence Continuing Education (CCCE) training requirements for the following groups: Chiropractor, Counselor/Therapist, Dietitian, Emergency Medical Service Provider, Home Care Worker, Long Term Care Administrator, Massage Therapist, Midwife, Naturopathic Doctor, Nurse, Occupational Therapist, Pharmacist, Physical Therapist, Physician, Psychologist, Social Worker, Speech-Language Pathologist/Audiologist

Target Audience: Physicians, Nurses, Pharmacists, Allied Health Professionals

Accessibility/Program Questions: St. Charles Health System encourages persons with disabilities to participate in its programs and activities. If you anticipate needing any type of accommodation or have questions about the physical access provided, please contact Continuing Medical Education at [email protected]. 

St. Charles has relocated its high-risk breast cancer clinic into the St. Charles Cancer Center, a move caregivers believe will help them identify more people at increased risk for developing cancer and give those people the tools they need to reduce their risk.

The clinic – a partnership between St. Charles and Central Oregon Radiology Associates (CORA) since 2015 – was previously located in CORA’s facility on the east side of Bend. Last year, when the CORA-employed provider who staffed the clinic retired, the decision was made to move the clinic into the Cancer Center and staff it with a St. Charles-employed provider.

That provider, Stephanie Henderson, started working in January and the clinic is now seeing patients.

“Because we were already collaborating closely with CORA, it made sense for us to bring it in-house,” said Dr. Linyee Chang, senior medical director of Cancer Services for St. Charles. “It’s important for our cancer program to provide this service as it allows our comprehensive breast program to encompass the full spectrum of breast care.”

On the surface, the move simply means that patients of the clinic will go to a different location for their appointments – crossing Neff Road from CORA to the Cancer Center. But bringing the clinic into the Cancer Center and under health system administration will also improve the care provided, both now and in the future, Chang said.

In addition to enjoying streamlined policies and procedures, the provider will have more options in terms of ordering MRI scans or ultrasounds than they would at CORA because of rules against self-referral, Chang said. Also, the move will bring the clinic into closer alignment with St. Charles’ existing menu of high-risk assessment and risk-reduction strategies.

Women identified to have greater than a 20% lifetime risk for developing breast cancer are considered at high risk. If they visit the clinic, they’ll receive general education about breast cancer, learn how to reduce their risk, discuss potential treatments, develop a personalized plan for surveillance and complete a familial risk questionnaire to identify whether they may benefit from a comprehensive genetic assessment.

The Cancer Center’s genetic counselor, Brigitte Cronier, said she expects to see an uptick in patients who come to her from the high-risk breast clinic now that it’s at St. Charles.

“Genetic counseling is a big part of risk assessment, and many of the people we meet are going to be candidates for it,” she said. “At the same time, there will be plenty of people we follow for high risk because of some other factor and not because of a genetic test result. Ultimately, we just want to capture as many high-risk people as possible and make sure they know what they can do to try to stay healthy.”

Jessica Keegan is the prevention and high-risk coordinator for the Cancer Center. She said the comprehensive screening process is designed to guide people into the program that’s right for them.

“When people come to me, I’m going through and building out pedigrees with them to really look and see where they are going to be best served,” she said. “That may be genetic counseling or it may be a more frequent screening regimen. We’re looking to make sure we are giving them the best possible resources.”

Last but certainly not least, Chang and her team see the breast cancer clinic as a next step on the path to a more robust high-risk cancer program at St. Charles.

“This is just the start. We want to have high-risk lung care, high-risk prostate care, high-risk colorectal care – we’ll be identifying those and rolling out comparable programs to this one,” Chang said.

“This clinic will serve as a sort of model for how we take care of people who are at higher risk for cancer and empower them to take control of their risk and their health,” she continued. “We’re here not just to take care of people who have cancer, but to help them never develop cancer at all.”

For more information or to schedule a consultation with the high-risk breast cancer clinic, call Jessica Keegan at 541-706-6729.

Above: St. Charles caregiver Jake Fries stands in front of his new home in Bend.

In March 2023, Jake Fries was reading the news when he spotted an advertisement for a new housing community in Bend called Rooted at Poplar. The concept: Seven 1,300-square-foot homes on the south end of town, with four of them prioritized for local workers thanks to partnerships between a developer, Rooted Homes, and local employers and organizations.

A year later, nearly half of the Rooted at Poplar’s residents are St. Charles caregivers, including Fries, a 29-year-old surgical tech in the Bend operating room.

“I can finally afford to live in my own place,” Fries says. “It’s changed everything.”

Like many local workers, Fries had trouble finding affordable housing in Bend, where the median price of a single-family home reached $800,000 last summer. It’s an issue that has contributed to workforce shortages at St. Charles, which is why the health system partnered last year with Rooted Homes, a nonprofit whose mission is to make buying a home more affordable.

“At St. Charles, we not only care about our people, we also depend on them to care for the communities we serve. We need great people to be able to live and work in Central Oregon,” said Rebecca Berry, vice president and chief Human Resources officer for St. Charles. “We knew we had to find creative ways to help attract and retain great caregivers.”

Rooted Homes works with a consortium of partners to build high-quality, affordable housing and pay part of the cost for homebuyers. To fund its Poplar project, Rooted Homes tapped a number of local and state organizations, banks, charitable foundations, the City of Bend and the Bend Chamber of Commerce, which secured financial support from some of its members. St. Charles Foundation provided $7,500 to cover closing costs for the three caregivers now living in the community.

“It really was a team effort,” said Berry. “Everyone knows how important it is that Central Oregon remains a place where people can afford to live, and we appreciate the partnership of the Bend Chamber, Rooted Homes and all the other entities involved in making this happen.”

The process starts with an application that places potential buyers in a lottery system, where essential workers and employees of partner organizations (such as St. Charles) are given additional weight made possible through private funds raised by the Bend Chamber. From a pool of around 300 applicants, Fries ended up fifth on the waitlist for a home, eventually landing a spot after another applicant dropped out. From there, the process was similar to buying any other house: loans, escrow, keys, furniture shopping. Fries moved into his new home in February.

“Now I feel like I’m able to build myself and my future family a better future,” he said.

The typical monthly mortgage for the Poplar homes is around $1,650, about 40% lower than average rent prices in the area. And it’s not just the mortgage that’s low — monthly utilities hover around $12. Rooted Homes communities are built with sustainability in mind, featuring solar panels and a net-zero design, said Jackie Keogh, vice president of the company. Residents also receive a free electric bike.

“The goal was that these folks become more long-term residents and, therefore, longer-term employees because they are not impacted by the cost of housing,” Keogh said.

Thanks to continued community support, more homes are on the horizon, including 40 new houses on Bend’s west side.

“It's been a great partnership,” Keogh said, “and we hope to continue it with St. Charles.”

You may have seen recently that St. Charles has been positively recognized by S&P Global Ratings and Moody’s Investors Service, two large and influential credit rating agencies, for the health system’s operating performance turnaround.

As a nonprofit health care organization, we issue bonds to reinvest in our facilities and infrastructure to continue providing high quality, critical care to Central Oregon communities. The affirmed ratings and improved outlooks from the two agencies strengthen the health system’s capacity to borrow additional capital dollars in the future. And it’s nice that others have recognized the improvements we’ve made over the past 18 months, stabilizing our workforce and our finances.

I want to tell you about another sign of stabilization at St. Charles – one that will be more visible to our patients, visitors and caregivers than a credit rating.

Late last year, the St. Charles Board of Directors approved a $74 million plan to fund deferred maintenance, facility improvements, equipment upgrades, growth initiatives and other projects. The total includes $30 million in bond funds for development of the Redmond Cancer Center and $44 million from last year’s earnings for existing needs.

This is another really strong signal that the organization is stabilizing financially. It comes after three years of limited spending on this kind of work across the health system, at first as a cautionary move near the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic, and then because we simply didn’t have the financial strength to fund a lot of projects.

Now, with an improved financial outlook, the 2024 plan covers a number of facility projects that will be noticeable to patients and the visiting public, as well as equipment and infrastructure upgrades that will make a positive day-to-day impact on St. Charles caregivers. All projects in the plan were prioritized and selected by operational leaders across the system as part of an in-depth planning process.

This is great news, not only for our bottom line and the caregivers who work in our facilities every day, but for the health of the organization as a whole and our ability to continue to provide Central Oregon with excellent care, far into the future.

As always, thanks for reading,
Steve

Postpartum Depression

Postpartum depression (PPD) is more than just the "baby blues." It's a serious mental health condition that affects mothers after childbirth, often characterized by feelings of extreme sadness, anxiety and exhaustion. Unlike the typical fluctuations in mood that many new mothers experience, PPD persists and can significantly interfere with daily life and bonding with the newborn. Symptoms may include overwhelming fatigue, changes in appetite, difficulty sleeping, intense irritability, and a sense of detachment from the baby. It's crucial to recognize that PPD is not a reflection of a mother's ability to care for her child, but rather a biological and psychological response to the immense hormonal changes and new responsibilities of motherhood. With support, understanding and appropriate treatment, mothers can navigate through PPD and emerge stronger, healthier and more connected with their babies.

At St. Charles, we are committed to supporting mothers through their journey into motherhood and recognize the significant and often overlooked challenges that PPD presents. If you feel you're experiencing the effects of postpartum depression, please reach out to your obstetrician or primary care provider for help.

St. Charles Foundation’s annual Saints Gala co-sponsored by Genentech and CORA was a resounding success, raising nearly half a million dollars to enable St. Charles to continue providing world-class health care services. This year’s special appeal focused on the Three Sisters Rural Track Program (RTP), the first graduate level residency program in Central Oregon which will provide training for rural family medicine doctors.

“Watching our community come together from across Central Oregon to support this new program was inspiring and heartwarming,” said Jenny O’Bryan, executive director of the Foundation.

The theme for this year’s event was Puttin’ on the Ritz, with décor and music from the 1920s. The event includes a silent and live auction along with dinner. The Foundation received two significant matching gifts: an anonymous donor gave $50,000 in honor of the Sunriver Wood Chuckers volunteer program and the Bean Foundation from Madras gave $25,000.

Learn more about the RTP program and how it will impact Central Oregonians: Video, Website

About St. Charles Foundation
The mission of St. Charles Foundation is to support St. Charles Health System in the delivery and advancement of world-class health care in Central Oregon and in achieving its strategic goals. St. Charles Foundation works with the community to develop and steward philanthropic resources to fund programs and capital projects that improve health, prevent disease, enhance quality of life and provide the highest quality care possible for all St. Charles patients now and in the future. Learn more about the efforts of St. Charles Foundation: https://foundation.stcharleshealthcare.org/.