"You have to take care of the critical things and you can’t let every little thing get to you. You’ve got to figure out, 'OK, this is what’s vital. This is what I need to focus on.' Like a lot of people in Bend, I mountain bike, I do a lot of running, I climb. Doing those activities with the family definitely helps relieve some of the stress. And I have an 8-year-old daughter who's been playing softball. I never thought I would’ve enjoyed watching 8-year-old softball but it’s just been awesome to watch these kids learn how to play the game and flourish throughout the year. It's things like that that help."

- Mike, a registered nurse in the Bend Emergency Department, on how he has tried to cope with the "grind" of the past year

Our Health Benefits

NEW! 2024 Benefits

Download Full 2024 Guide | 2024 Benefits At-a-Glance
Descargar Guía de Beneficios Laborales | Descargar Guía Rápida de Beneficios Laborales

2023 Benefits

Download Full 2023 Guide | 2023 Benefits At-a-Glance
Descargar Guía de Beneficios Laborales | Descargar Guía Rápida de Beneficios Laborales

• Three medical plan choices:
  • Caregiver Directed Health Plan (CDHP)
  • Prime PPO Plan Select
  • PPO Plan w/ Health Reimbursement Account (HRA)
• Dental plan: Delta Dental via Moda Health
• Vision plan: Full-service visual plan provided by Vision Service Plan (VSP)
• Retirement plans through Fidelity
  • 403b employer matching up to 6%
  • In addition to 403b, 457b plans are available for director level and above positions
• Additional insurance options
  • Employer-provided life insurance. Multiple other options for life and accidental insurance.
• Generous earned-time-off (ETO) plans:

Eligibility and Accrual for Non-Exempt Caregivers

* Based on a full-time, 80-hour position and includes sick days, holidays and vacation days.

Eligibility and Accrual for Exempt Caregivers

* Based on a full-time, 80-hour position and includes sick days, holidays and vacation days.

Wellness, Work/Life Balance

• Caregiver/Employee Assistance Program: free access to certified professionals to help provide advice and support around many of life’s challenges (financial, mental, physical, etc.)
• Engage for Health program: St. Charles is committed to improving the health and well-being of the communities we serve, starting with our own caregivers and their families. Engage for Health (powered by Virgin Pulse) is a comprehensive wellness program available to all St. Charles caregivers, family and friends, and is designed to support your journey to better health and well-being through a variety of resources and incentives.

Additional Benefits

Unum accident insurance

Unum hospital indemnity insurance

Unum critical illness insurance

First Choice Health Machine-Readable Files

Strawberry Salsa Recipe

• 1 ½ cups fresh strawberries, chopped small (about 1/2 pound)
• ½ jalapeno pepper, minced
• ¼ cup onion, minced
• 2 Tablespoons cilantro, finely chopped
• 1 ½ teaspoons lime juice

Directions

Mix all ingredients together in a bowl. Flavors will blend if refrigerated for 30 minutes or more before serving. Refrigerate leftovers within 2 hours.

Recipe courtesy of Oregon State University, FoodHero.org.

Local Support Groups

Central Oregon has an abundance of resources to help support cancer survivors and their caregivers during their continued journey through treatment and beyond.

Cancer with Compassion - a support group

Facilitated by Rev. Cathie Young, Cancer with Compassion is a faith-based cancer support group. A diagnosis of cancer changes a life forever. And the journey through treatment is demanding on all levels. A cancer support group can provide practical help and give needed comfort, hope and encouragement. Cancer with Compassion provides virtual support groups available to any patient or survivor. All are welcome - women and men with all types of cancer. They also provide a support group for caregivers and breast cancer-specific support. To learn more, visit www.cancerwithcompassion.com, call 949-279-1246 or email [email protected].

Thyroid Cancer Support Group

Support groups are free and open to any and all survivors, their families and their friends. Facilitated by Angela Faulkner, these groups allow members a chance to share their cancer stories, receive information about thyroid cancer and gain insights and support on how to cope with thyroid cancer. For more information, visit www.thyca.org/sg/, call 503-473-9551 or email [email protected].

Cancer Hope Network

Cancer Hope Network matching program creates hope for adults facing cancer, one conversation at a time. They provide free one-on-one confidential support to all people (patients, families or friends) impacted by cancer, along the entire continuum from diagnosis through survivorship. They provide support by training local volunteers in each area who faced similar experiences. Through this process, they strive to instill hope and make a positive difference in the lives of people touched by cancer. For more information, visit www.cancerhopenetwork.org or call 877-HOPENET.

Other specialty support groups

Women Surviving Cancer Group - Judy Erickson, Facilitator. 907-209-9737

Sisters Support Group - Suzi Scarino Steele, Facilitator. 503-819-1723

Harney County Support Group - CAN Cancer, 541-573-8614

Lake County Support Group - Sally, Facilitator. 541-947-3259

Local Oncology Massage Therapists

Kathy Andrews (Bend)
Oncology & Lymphedema Massage
(541) 771-0263
[email protected]

Jennifer Hudson (Bend)
Oncology Massage
(541) 213-5862
[email protected]

Sabrina Merritt (Redmond)
Oncology & Lymphedema Massage
(541) 350-4398
[email protected]

Sarah Rajnus (Bend)
Oncology Massage
(541) 880-6514
[email protected]

Dale Ann Schofield (Bend)
Lymphedema Massage
(541) 508-9808
[email protected]

Mary Moore (Bend)
Massage Therapist, Manual Lymphatic Drainage Therapist
(541) 419-7965
[email protected]

Jill Dickman-Cooper (Bend)
Oncology Massage
(206) 661-8396
[email protected]

[JAMA Health Forum is] focused on health policy, health care systems, and global and public health. Its mission is to publish original research, evidence-based reports, and opinion about national and global health policy; innovative approaches to health care delivery; and health care economics, access, quality, safety, equity, and reform.

Source: Ayanian JZ, Buntin MB, Donohue JM, Ibrahim SA, Zaslavsky AM. The Debut of JAMA Health Forum as a Peer-Reviewed Journal. JAMA Health Forum. 2021;2(5):e210847. doi:10.1001/jamahealthforum.2021.0847

Access:

• JAMA Health Forum Journal
• RSS subscription

Grand Rounds - Jun 11, 2021
"Medication Assisted Treatment (MAT) for Opioid Use Disorder (OUD) in Emergency care and the Hospitalized Patient"

Speaker: Jessica LeBlanc, MD, MPH. Family Practice Physician, Mosaic Medical Center.

Objectives

1. Medical management strategies for treating patients in acute opioid withdrawal in ER and inpatient settings.
2. Medical management strategies for treating patients with chronic OUD on stable MAT who are evaluated in ER and inpatient settings.
3. Summarize appropriate referral strategies for patients in order to continue MAT in outpatient management.
4. Provide list of resources of Addiction Medicine Specialists in Central Oregon who can be a resource for ongoing collaboration and care provision to our community.
5. Discuss preventative strategies including non-pharmacologic measures such as PT, psych, meditation training, to transition post op patients off narcotics during the postoperative/postinjury convalescent period.

Accreditation: St. Charles Health System is accredited by the Accreditation Council for Continuing Medical Education to provide continuing medical education for physicians. St. Charles Health System designates this live activity for a maximum of 1.0 AMA PRA Category 1 Credit(s)^TM.

Physicians should claim only the credit commensurate with the extent of their participation in the activity.

Claim Credit

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 541-706-4680, [email protected]. For CME or Clerkship questions, contact Sheila Jordan, MMGT, CHCP, Manager of Continuing Medical Education at 541-706-6780, [email protected].

"I was fortunate enough to be employed by St. Charles the entire time during the pandemic and I’m in a good position financially. So when I got my stimulus check, I could’ve saved it if I’d wanted to. But the intent of that money was to help people, so I thought maybe there’s a way I can reallocate it in a way that helps sick kids and gives back to St. Charles at the same time."

- Ethan, a diet aide and cashier in food services at St. Charles Prineville, who recently purchased three Nintendo Switch game consoles and donated them to the health system's Pediatrics unit in Bend. He also bought prepaid gift cards so caregivers on the unit can buy appropriate games for patients, and he's working on doing something similar in the Prineville community.

#humansofstcharles

Grand Rounds - June 4, 2021
"Osteoporosis Update"

Speaker: Robin K. Dore, MD. Clinical Professor of Medicine, Division of Rheumatology, David Geffen School of Medicine, UCLA.

Objectives

1. Examine the epidemiology and pathophysiology of osteoporosis in men and women.
2. Identify the contributing factors associated with osteoporosis, assess osteoporotic prevention strategies.
3. Review t-score diagnosis and current screening options for osteoporosis.
4. Evaluate non-pharmacologic and current pharmacologic therapies recommended for best outcomes.
5. Differentiate between osteopenia and osteoporosis.
6. Identify populations (age, gender, and ethnicity) at higher risk for osteoporosis.

Accreditation: St. Charles Health System is accredited by the Accreditation Council for Continuing Medical Education to provide continuing medical education for physicians. St. Charles Health System designates this live activity for a maximum of 1.0 AMA PRA Category 1 Credit(s)^TM.

Physicians should claim only the credit commensurate with the extent of their participation in the activity.

Claim Credit

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 541-706-4680, [email protected]. For CME or Clerkship questions, contact Sheila Jordan, MMGT, CHCP, Manager of Continuing Medical Education at 541-706-6780, [email protected].

"I talked to my mom like two weeks before that and said, 'When this is done, I think I’m going to look for a different position.' Because I didn’t like just being on the computer all the time. I thought I’d be actually training people and getting to interact with the doctors and see them learning and appreciating the time and effort that went into making sure this education made an impact on them and on patient outcomes, and I wasn’t getting that. But in April, we did two big (partially in-person) trainings and they really changed my perspective and opened up a lot of opportunities for things that I’m excited to do in the future."

- Ellie, simulation and procedural skills specialist and self-proclaimed “people person” on how working remotely during the pandemic affected her. Recently, she organized and oversaw two major physician trainings, which helped her rediscover her passion for her role at St. Charles.

Though mask mandates are being relaxed and gatherings are getting bigger, the push to vaccinate people against COVID-19 remains as important as ever. To keep yourself and your loved ones safe, to be able to continue doing the things you love to do and to support our local businesses, we need to vaccinate as many people as possible as quickly as possible.

If you’re not yet vaccinated and you’re ready to get the vaccines, learn how to do that at www.CentralOregonCOVIDVaccine.com.

If you’re not yet vaccinated and you feel hesitant about getting the vaccine, please consider:

The COVID-19 vaccines are SAFE:

• They do not contain live virus and cannot give you COVID-19.
• They do not affect or interact with your DNA in any way.
• They were tested in tens of thousands of people during clinical trials.
• Millions have already been vaccinated and are undergoing the most intensive real-time safety monitoring program in U.S. history.

The COVID-19 vaccines are EFFECTIVE:

• Clinical studies have shown the vaccines to be highly effective at reducing transmission of COVID-19 and at reducing serious illness and death as a result of the virus.
• In real-world conditions, nearly 4,000 health care personnel, first responders and essential workers were tested weekly for the virus that causes COVID-19. Those who were fully vaccinated were 90% less likely to get infected.
• COVID-19 is still spreading among the unvaccinated and causing serious illness, even among younger populations. Of the 500+ COVID-19 patients at St. Charles since March 1, about 98% of them have not been fully vaccinated.

Here are some more facts about the COVID-19 vaccine:

Side effects
Adverse immune responses from the vaccines almost always show up within the first two weeks and certainly within the first two months. Serious adverse events appear to be extremely rare and are being monitored on a real-time basis as vaccines are rolled out to the general population.

FDA approval
They are being administered under an Emergency Use Authorization because the FDA has not granted full approval yet, but that is NOT because of safety concerns. The vaccines are expected to receive full FDA approval once a year’s worth of data is available that shows how long they remain effective.

Fertility
There is no evidence that COVID-19 vaccines affect fertility. In fact, if you are pregnant or trying to become pregnant, the benefits far outweigh the risks as pregnancy puts a person at higher risk of severe COVID-19 illness. In addition, research suggests the vaccines provide some level of protection to newborns.

It's free
No matter who you are or where you live in the United States, you can get the COVID-19 vaccine at no cost to you.

Young and healthy
A highly contagious strain of COVID-19 is hitting young adults hard. The B.1.1.7 variant is now the most dominant strain of coronavirus in the United States. Unlike the original strain, this one is heavily impacting young people, some of whom go on to develop “long-haulers” syndrome.

Already had COVID-19
Even if you’ve had COVID-19 in the past, you should still get vaccinated because the immunity you get from the vaccine will likely be stronger and last longer than the immunity you have from being infected.