BEND, Ore. – St. Charles Health System patients have received phone calls from criminals identifying themselves as either St. Charles caregivers or Medicare officials in an effort to get valuable information like Medicare and Social Security numbers.

The caller ID may appear as a St. Charles number. Falsifying a caller ID number in this way is known as “spoofing,” and unfortunately, St. Charles cannot prevent this type of criminal activity.

The health system is asking the public to be cautious about ever giving medical or insurance information over the phone. Those who suspect a caller is falsely representing St. Charles should hang up and call their St. Charles provider’s office to find out if they need information.

Individuals who believe they have been a victim of any kind of phone scam should consider reporting it.

The Federal Trade Commission is the primary government agency that collects scam complaints and can be contacted one of two ways:

• Online: https://reportfraud.ftc.gov/#/
• By phone: 1-877-382-4357

To report suspected Medicare fraud, call 1-800-MEDICARE (1-800-633-4227). 

There are also two ways to report caller ID spoofing to the Federal Communications Commission:

• Online: https://consumercomplaints.fcc.gov/hc/en-us
• By Phone: 1-888-225-5322

Those who have been a victim of identity theft should visit https://identitytheft.gov/ for information on how to report it.

To learn more about how to spot and avoid Medicare scams or scams in general visit,

https://www.consumer.ftc.gov/blog/2019/03/protect-yourself-against-medicare-scams

About St. Charles Health System

St. Charles Health System, Inc., headquartered in Bend, Ore., owns and operates St. Charles Bend, Madras, Prineville and Redmond. It also owns family care clinics in Bend, La Pine, Madras, Prineville, Redmond and Sisters. St. Charles is a private, not-for-profit Oregon corporation and is the largest employer in Central Oregon with more than 4,600 caregivers. In addition, there are more than 350 active medical staff members and nearly 200 visiting medical staff members who partner with the health system to provide a wide range of care and service to our communities.

                                                                        ###

With the news this week that Deschutes County is moving back into the High Risk category for COVID-19, I wanted to send you all a note and ask you to please hang in there just a little while longer.  

Wearing your mask in public places, washing your hands regularly and continuing to physically distance are all critically important. Our local, state and national health care systems are in a race to vaccinate as many people as possible before the more contagious variants of COVID-19 push us into a fourth surge of infections. 

St. Charles and Deschutes County are vaccinating people quickly against the virus – more than 80% of residents ages 65 and older have received at least one dose of the vaccine here. Our partners in Jefferson and Crook counties are also vaccinating as quickly as vaccine supply allows – and they have stayed in the Lower Risk category for another two-week cycle, which is fantastic news. 

Unfortunately, with case counts up in Deschutes County, many of our local businesses will again feel the pain of scaling back their operations. I can’t imagine how difficult it is for our restaurants, gyms and other businesses to continually adjust their staffing in alignment with the latest COVID-19 restrictions. I’m grateful for their perseverance through it all.  

And, I want to encourage you to do what you can to help.

• First – Make sure you have registered for your COVID-19 vaccine appointment at centraloregoncovidvaccine.com. It only takes two minutes to complete the registration process. Every Oregonian over the age of 16 will be eligible for the vaccine as of April 19. That means, RIGHT NOW is the time to register. Once you are registered, you will be contacted to make an appointment as soon as a dose is available to you. 
   
• Second – If you have already been vaccinated, encourage others to do the same. All three vaccines, which are authorized by the FDA for emergency use, are safe and highly effective at reducing death and hospitalizations due to COVID-19. They also greatly reduce transmission of the virus – meaning the more people we vaccinate the quicker we can return to a more normal way of life.
   
• Third – Support our local businesses in safe ways by ordering take-out, choosing to socialize outside or buying gift cards to be used at a later date. Your actions can make a difference in ensuring our Central Oregon communities not only survive the pandemic but continue to thrive when it is over.
   
• Fourth – I’ve said it many times before and I’ll say it again – mask, wash and distance. We simply aren’t yet at a point where we can stop doing the things that we know reduce illness.

Every eligible Central Oregonian should be jumping at the chance to be vaccinated and help end this pandemic.  

Be sure to take your turn.  

Sincerely,

Joe

Grand Rounds - Apr. 9, 2021
"She-cession"

Speaker: Pamela Cohen, PhD. Chief Research & Analytics Officer at WerkLabs/The Mom Project

Objectives

1. Describe national and local trends of the shecession
2. Identify ways employers can support women in the workforce
3. Identify ways partners/spouses can help

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].

As more Oregonians become eligible for the COVID-19 vaccine, it is important to provide clear guidance on how to get an appointment.

With that in mind (and with help from our partners at Deschutes County), we've compiled some FAQs on getting the COVID-19 vaccine in Central Oregon. Please feel free to share this with your friends, family and social media circles to help us spread accurate information and get shots in arms as quickly as possible.

WHO IS ELIGIBLE?

Through April 18, everyone in Phases 1A and 1B of the state's vaccine sequencing plan is eligible to receive a COVID-19 vaccine. This includes frontline workers as defined by the CDC and their family members who live with them, people living in a multigenerational household and everyone age 16 or older who has one or more underlying health conditions with increased risk. Many more details are available here.

Effective April 19, all Oregonians age 16 and older will be eligible for the COVID-19 vaccine. This is two weeks ahead of the state's original schedule because, as Gov. Brown has said: "We are locked in a race between vaccine distribution and the spread of variants."

WHAT SHOULD I DO RIGHT NOW?

If you want the vaccine, go to centraloregoncovidvaccine.com today and pre-register, whether you are currently eligible or not. Pre-registering saves your spot in line for the vaccine and ensures you'll receive it as soon as there is a shot for you. When you're eligible and we have a dose for you, we'll send you a unique link to schedule your appointment. It's that simple.

NOTE: If you previously filled out this form, you still need to pre-register at centraloregoncovidvaccine.com. If you filled out a form but you’re not certain which one it was, go ahead and pre-register at centraloregoncovidvaccine.com to be safe.

WHAT IF I CAN’T (OR DON’T WANT TO) PRE-REGISTER ONLINE?

The easiest and fastest way to pre-register is online. If you need to pre-register by phone, call 541-699-5109. That number is staffed from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. on weekdays and 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. on weekends. Please be prepared to wait on hold or call back as this line is experiencing high call volumes. If you pre-register by phone, you’ll receive a call to schedule your appointment when a vaccine is available.

WHAT WILL HAPPEN AFTER I PRE-REGISTER?

First, you’ll receive a confirmation message that looks like this. (You will NOT receive a confirmation email.) Your name will be added to a database of people who have pre-registered through the site. As we receive doses of vaccine from the state of Oregon, we will email personalized, one-time scheduling links to as many people as we have doses available. This email will come from the address [email protected]. Keep an eye on your "spam" or "junk" folders in case it shows up there.

If you receive a scheduling link, use it within 48 hours to schedule your appointment.

I PRE-REGISTERED. WHY HAVEN’T I RECEIVED A SCHEDULING LINK?

Many people are eager to get vaccinated, and we are excited to offer the vaccine as quickly as possible. There are thousands of people in the pre-registration database waiting for their appointments. The system is set up to contact people based on eligibility group in the order they signed up. That means someone who is younger than you - but is in your eligibility group - may receive their appointment link before you do. This is normal. Again, there are many people in line waiting for their shot, and we will get to every single one as we have the doses. Your patience and understanding are very much appreciated.

WHERE DO I GET VACCINATED?

Deschutes County and St. Charles Health System are operating a large-scale vaccination clinic for all Central Oregon residents at the Deschutes County Fair & Expo Center, located at 3800 SW Airport Way in Redmond. If you schedule an appointment through your personalized link that was emailed to you, that’s where you should go to get your vaccine. NOTE: We have made every effort to make the clinic as accessible as possible, including golf carts that can shuttle individuals with limited mobility from their car to the front door. There are also language translation services onsite for non-English speakers.

Vaccines are also available through many local pharmacies. Appointments may be found through vaccinefinder.org.

IF I GET THE MODERNA OR PFIZER VACCINE, HOW DO I SCHEDULE MY SECOND SHOT?

The Moderna and Pfizer vaccines require two shots a few weeks apart. If you receive one of these vaccines for your first shot at our large-scale vaccination clinic at the Deschutes County Fair & Expo Center, you will get an appointment for your second shot before you leave the clinic. You don’t have to do anything else. Your second shot is secured and scheduled.

NOTE: At the direction of the federal government, the fairgrounds vaccine clinic is not currently administering the Johnson & Johnson vaccine. Only Moderna and Pfizer are available at this time.

A message from St. Charles President and CEO Joe Sluka and La Pine Mayor Daniel Richer:

When St. Charles opened the doors of its Family Care and Immediate Care clinic in La Pine in May 2018, it did so to bring health care services closer to home for people who live there and in other medically underserved areas like Sunriver, Gilchrist, Chemult and Christmas Valley.

The project was years in the making and made possible in large part by the La Pine community. Individuals, foundations and businesses came together to see health care expanded in the south county area and contributed more than $1 million to fund the clinic, which houses primary care, immediate care, radiology, lab, occupational and specialty services.

Demand for services in La Pine is high. In 2020, more than 20,000 patients visited the clinic, 7,000 of whom were seen in Immediate Care alone. And as more people are seen there, more are referred to St. Charles' Bend hospital for medical emergencies that warrant a higher level of care than what the clinic can provide. In 2020, 715 patients were referred to the Emergency Department, 95 of whom went by ambulance. 

The decision to activate 911 is made with the safety and well-being of patients top of mind. That’s why we became deeply concerned when the La Pine Rural Fire Protection District (LPRFP) enacted an ordinance—Ordinance No. 2019-03—attempting to charge care providers like St. Charles and the La Pine Community Health Center for what the LPRFP claimed were non-emergent ambulance transports. But these “non-emergencies” were patients with potentially life-threatening problems like heart attacks and strokes.

Recently, the fire district decided to review this ordinance and invited public comment. It received overwhelming opposition to the fire district’s fee-based model. This outpouring of resistance to the ordinance included submissions by the Central Oregon Independent Practice Association (COIPA), a group that represents independent providers in the region, the La Pine Community Health Center and one of the co-authors of this piece, La Pine Mayor Daniel Richer.  

You can read the public comments here.

This Thursday, the fire district board is scheduled to review and vote on a replacement ordinance, 2021-01. The proposed new ordinance would direct the fire district to bill care facilities for all 911 activations— not the patient’s insurance, as is standard practice. We strongly oppose this new ordinance, as we believe it could place La Pine health care services at risk.

While the clinic sees thousands of patients each year, it operates at a significant financial loss and has been subsidized by St. Charles as a service to the community. Sadly, if St. Charles is forced to pay for ambulance transports, the increased losses to provide care may prove so challenging that the health system will most likely be unable to keep the clinic open. 

St. Charles cares about the La Pine community and wants to continue to do our part to serve it. The people of La Pine deserve access to the health care services they need, which is why we think the fire district board should reject this ordinance and stop the harmful practice of billing care facilities for transports instead of patients’ insurance. The fire district has many means to fund itself that do not endanger community residents. It’s time they explore those other options.

If you live in one of the areas served by St. Charles' clinic and the La Pine Rural Fire Protection District, we encourage you to attend the fire district board’s next meeting on Thursday at 9 a.m. The meeting is virtual, and you must send your request for the Zoom link to [email protected] before 3 p.m. on Wednesday. 

We think your health is too important to jeopardize over a fire district funding issue.

Joe Sluka
President and CEO
St. Charles Health System

Daniel Richer
Mayor of La Pine

In a world of their own: Caregivers use virtual reality technology to train for medical emergencies

Janice Schmidt is in another world.

The St. Charles Bend operating room she’s in isn’t prepped for surgery—equipment is shoved to the side and sitting idle—and no one else is there.

But in her virtual reality, the operating room is hopping as a team of doctors and nurses quickly react to what could become a catastrophic disaster.

With a headset strapped to her face and paddles secured to each of her hands, the clinical practice education coordinator is racing to extinguish a fire that erupted when a laser (used to repair the trachea of a patient) ignited a dangerously high level of oxygen. Schmidt has mere seconds in this timed scenario to reach for a bowl of water, extinguish the burgeoning blaze and peel back the patient’s surgical drape before it’s engulfed in flames.

This heart-thumping scenario is all too real—which is exactly the point

“We don’t want to just read a book,” she said. “We want to see it, do it, feel it. Virtual reality is a game-changer for reduction in fire risk.”

That’s why St. Charles Health System is joining the ranks of other West Coast health care providers like Stanford Health and UCLA Health that are using virtual technology to improve the quality of the clinical training they provide. Since January, more than 100 St. Charles doctors, nurses and technicians have completed their annual Joint Commission-required education on fire prevention via Health Scholar’s Fire in the OR virtual reality simulation.

In operating rooms, fire is an ever-present danger, said Sherie Ponting, interim perioperative educator. That’s because the three components of fire, known as the “fire triad,” are present in nearly all surgical procedures: an oxidizer, like oxygen or nitrous oxide; an ignition source such as a laser or electrocauterizing tool, and fuel, which can be anything from surgical drapes to gauze.

Through virtual reality training, Ponting said caregivers realize just how fast a fire can happen and how quickly they must respond.

Operating room fires are rare events—about 550 to 650 are reported each year in the United States—but surgical teams must be ready to quickly communicate and react to minimize harm to patients and themselves.

An operating room fire can be a “horrific error,” Ponting said. “A patient’s future care and ability to survive it is based on how fast you can react.”

While virtual reality is a cost-effective way to offer training, it’s also highly effective. Learners who use virtual reality fire simulation training performed 250% better than those who only had traditional didactic teaching methods, according to research cited by Health Scholars.

“It was awesome,” one St. Charles caregiver wrote in their feedback form after taking the Fire in the OR training. Another offered, “I truly felt stressed and recognize how quickly a fire can get out of control.”

Schmidt and Ponting said the response from caregivers has been so overwhelmingly positive that the health system plans to soon offer additional virtual reality simulations for other kinds of scenarios such as when a patient experiences malignant hyperthermia (a kind of severe reaction to drugs used for anesthesia) or precipitous delivery (the rapid delivery of a baby).

“If I save one life, one patient from being harmed, that’s enough,” Schmidt said.

Grand Rounds - Apr. 2, 2021
"Deschutes County Stabilization Center"

Speaker: Holly Harris, M.ED, LPC. Program Manager, Deschutes County Health Services

Objectives

1. Understand the resources available through the Deschutes County Stabilization Center, how to access them and why they are important in keeping individuals with SMI out of the Emergency Department and the Criminal Justice System
2. Identify available resources in Jefferson and Crook County

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].

St. Charles Bend technical caregivers ratify first-time contract  

The approximately 150 technical caregivers at St. Charles Bend who are represented by the Oregon Federation of Nurses and Health Professionals voted yesterday in favor of ratifying their first-time contract

"We are so pleased the Bend techs agreed with the compensation philosophy St. Charles has in place for all of its non-contracted caregivers," said Hillary Forrest, director of Human Resources for St. Charles and a member of the bargaining team. 

The contract provides general wage increases and market adjustments for the first year that will bring the technical caregivers to the same wage level as St. Charles techs at other campuses. The wage package brings the technical caregivers up to the level of wages they would have already received if they had not voted to unionize in September 2019. The average increase is about 11%, which is consistent with increases received from 2019 through the first quarter of 2021 for non-contracted technical caregivers. Most OFNHP members did not receive wage increases during the bargaining process.  

“Our bargaining philosophy has been to ensure that all St. Charles caregivers are treated fairly – regardless of if they are unionized,” Forrest said. “We did not provide retroactive pay for the technical caregivers and we achieved our goal of ensuring this group of caregivers is compensated with the same processes and general increases as caregivers who are not part of a union."

During bargaining, the Bend techs missed out on a potential of four wage and market increases that others have received since the fall of 2019. After the first year, the contract follows the same wage methodology St. Charles already uses for non-contracted caregivers. 

In addition, the St. Charles team held firm throughout negotiations in its belief that all St. Charles caregivers should have a choice as to whether they join a union. The ratified contract is considered an “open shop” and allows current and future St. Charles Bend technical caregivers to choose whether they join the union and pay dues. 

Negotiations on the contract have been taking place since January 2020. St. Charles leaders and union representatives met more than 30 times to bargain the contract – all while dealing with a global pandemic and community-wide COVID-19 vaccination roll-out. The technical caregivers participated in a work stoppage that started March 4 even though the team had not yet had its first session with the federal mediator, which was already scheduled for March 10.   

“The wage proposal that was ratified by yesterday’s vote is the same proposal St. Charles put on the bargaining table before the technical caregivers went out on strike,” Forrest said. “As we have said multiple times, no one wins in a strike situation. We are pleased that OFNHP was willing to return to work so we could negotiate the last items in the contract to ensure no future disruptions to patient care.”

About St. Charles Health System

St. Charles Health System, Inc., headquartered in Bend, Ore., owns and operates St. Charles Bend, Madras, Prineville and Redmond. It also owns family care clinics in Bend, La Pine, Madras, Prineville, Redmond and Sisters. St. Charles is a private, not-for-profit Oregon corporation and is the largest employer in Central Oregon with more than 4,500 caregivers. In addition, there are more than 350 active medical staff members and nearly 200 visiting medical staff members who partner with the health system to provide a wide range of care and service to our communities.

                                                                        ###

For a brief moment on Wednesday this week, our Bend hospital had zero inpatients with COVID-19. It’s the first time we have hit that particular milestone since June 3 of last year. 

Although as of this morning our inpatient COVID-19 number was back up to one, it’s still a moment worth celebrating. 

We have come a very long way in our COVID-19 fight. 

At times it has felt like a never-ending battle. And while it isn’t over, I’m so very proud of our St. Charles team and our entire Central Oregon community for how we have come together to face this global pandemic. 

We have washed, we have masked and we have distanced – and will continue to do so – and these actions have undoubtedly saved lives. As our county risk levels decline and our worlds are opening back up, I have so much hope because of the most important tool in our COVID-19 fight: vaccinations. 

To date, along with our county public health and National Guard partners, we have given more than 50,000 COVID-19 vaccinations and are a leader in the state in terms of how many people we have vaccinated over the age of 65 per capita. 

While it is still too soon to draw any definitive conclusions, it appears our vaccine strategy is working. The average age of patients hospitalized at St. Charles Bend in March has declined compared with those hospitalized in January. This is a trend we hope to see continue as vaccinations become available to all Oregonians by May 1. 

My ask of you today, no matter your age or underlying health conditions, is that you pre-register for your COVID-19 vaccine. Visit centraloregoncovidvaccine.com and spend just two minutes completing the registration form. When you are eligible and we have a dose for you, we will send you a unique link to book your vaccine appointment.

Once you have pre-registered yourself, please share the link with others. Help us spread the word. If you are able, register those who don’t have access to a computer or need technical assistance. I am confident that just as we have pulled together to fight COVID-19, we will pull together as a community to ensure every eligible Central Oregonian who wants a vaccine is able to get one in the next few months. 

Thank you, as always, for your continued support. 

Sincerely,
Joe

LSVT is a scientifically researched, high-intensity therapeutic intervention to improve motor coordination and voice production in individuals with Parkinson’s disease and other neurological disorders.

LSVT LOUD Speech Therapy can benefit the patient by:

• Increasing vocal loudness
• Improving articulation and speech intelligibility
• Improving intonation
• Improving facial expression
• Creating changes in neural functioning related to voice and speech

Patients attend 16 one-hour sessions of Speech Therapy. One-on-one individualized sessions occur four consecutive days a week for four weeks. Additionally, patients will complete daily homework practice and carryover exercises.

LSVT BIG Physical and Occupational Therapy can help the patient achieve:

• Faster walking with bigger steps
• Improved balance
• Increased trunk rotation
• Improvements in daily activities (getting out of bed, getting dressed, etc.)
• Improved standardized motor scores

Patients attend 16 one-hour sessions of combined Physical and Occupational Therapy. One-on-one individualized sessions occur four consecutive days a week for four weeks. Additionally, patients will complete daily homework practice and carryover exercises.