St. Charles makes COVID-19 inpatient data available on website
BEND, Ore. – To help keep the news media and public informed, St. Charles Health System is sharing its COVID-19 inpatient data on its website at stcharleshealthcare.org/covid-19.
The data, which will be updated daily Monday through Friday, include:
Number of hospitalized patients with COVID-19
Number of COVID-19 patients in the Intensive Care Unit (ICU)
Number of COVID-19 patients on ventilators
St. Charles continues to remind the public to wear a mask, as well as practice physical distancing and good hand hygiene, as the number of the COVID-19 cases in Central Oregon continues to rise.
The health system has been preparing for a surge of COVID-19 patients since January, ensuring its hospitals and clinics remain a safe place for care of any kind. Individuals who experience a medical emergency should not hesitate to seek 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, 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 4,200 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 COVID-19 hospitalizations increasing, St. Charles Health System urges community to celebrate Fourth of July at home, limit interactions to a small group of people
BEND, Ore. – At St. Charles, COVID-19 hospitalizations have nearly doubled in the past 24 hours, and our data modeling shows that we are heading for a bigger surge than the one we experienced in April.
The bottom line is if behavior doesn’t change in our community, we will overwhelm our health system’s capacity in the coming weeks.
We know people are looking forward to celebrating the holiday weekend with family and friends. However, we are not in a position to celebrate in the ways we’re used to. After Memorial Day weekend gatherings, COVID-19 cases accelerated. This virus does not take holidays off, and our actions now will determine where we stand later in July.
To keep you, your loved ones and your community safe, we urge you to:
Stay home if you feel sick.
Think hard about your Fourth of July plans. Please strongly consider celebrating at home this year, and limiting your interactions to a very small group of people.
If you go out in public, it is absolutely vital that you wear a mask at all times.
Follow physical distancing guidelines.
Wash your hands. Wash your hands. Wash your hands.
St. Charles Health System has been preparing for a surge of COVID-19 patients since January, and our facilities remain a safe place for care of any kind. If you experience a medical emergency and need to seek care, please do not hesitate to visit a St. Charles hospital.
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, 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 4,200 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.
As a health system and the largest employer in Central Oregon, we want you to know we stand with our communities for equity and inclusion of all.
Our nation is hurting – and we know that many of you are hurting as well.
We can’t stay silent and simply watch the news of the past week. It is critical that you know we do not tolerate racism. We do not tolerate violence. We do not tolerate ignorance of these issues.
It is time to do better.
St. Charles has a more than 100-year legacy that started with a brave group of nuns declaring they would care for all or care for none. However, although we strive to provide health care to all those in need – we know disparities continue to exist for many of the populations we serve.
The global pandemic of COVID-19 has put a spotlight on this issue by disproportionately affecting communities of color throughout the nation. In Oregon, our African American, Hispanic and American Indian populations have been hit as well – we are not immune.
St. Charles should be a safe place for all regardless of race, religion, color, gender, sexual orientation or ability to pay. While we have taken some positive steps – including our cultural care programs in Madras and our sexual orientation and gender identity workgroup – we know it is just the beginning of an ongoing journey to learn and to improve upon our own understandings and practices.
We as a St. Charles leadership team vow to investigate where our organization may be falling short, to engage in conversations with our diverse populations, to listen, learn and improve. We also commit to educating ourselves to better understand these issues through diversity training and will continue to look for opportunities to better reflect our communities.
We owe it to the communities we serve — and ourselves — to do the important work of really understanding each other. Now is the time to see our differences from one another and not fear them, but instead embrace and learn from them.
We must do better.
Please, take this moment to check in with your fellow caregivers. Ask them how they are doing and what they are feeling. Connect with and support each other through these turbulent times.
Remember, when people are in pain, our job is to heal.
Sincerely,
St. Charles Executive Care Team
Joe Sluka, Chief Executive Officer
Jeff Absalon, Chief Physician Executive
Jenn Welander, Chief Financial Officer
Iman Simmons, Chief Operating Officer
Darren Binder, Chief Legal and Risk Officer
Rod Marchiando, SVP Improvement and Strategy
Jim Guyn, SVP Population Health
Pam Steinke, Chief Nursing Executive
Rebecca Berry, VP Human Resources
Grand Rounds - June 26, 2020
"Gut Health and Intestinal Hyperpermeability"
Speaker: Michelle Hirschy-Baker, FNP-C, Functional Medicine Nurse Practitioner
Objectives:
1) Explain the basic physiology of intestinal hyperpermeability
2) Explain how untreated intestinal hyperpermeability can lead to the development of autoimmune conditions
3) Demonstrate the basic recommendations to reverse intestinal hyperpermeability and when it may be appropriate to refer to a functional medicine provider for further evaluation
Accreditation: St. Charles Health System is accredited by the Oregon Medical Association 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.
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].
Bend is a town that loves its beer, and the production and consumption of alcohol is a prominent part of the Central Oregon lifestyle.
Still, no one is immune to the dangers of alcohol misuse. That’s why St. Charles Health System has chosen alcohol misuse prevention as its community benefit focus for the 2020-2022 funding cycle.
“Our previous priority focus was suicide prevention, and we partnered with local organizations and individuals to provide QPR (Question, Persuade and Refer) suicide-prevention training to more than 2,500 people throughout Central Oregon over the past three years,” said Carlos Salcedo, manager of community partnerships for St. Charles. “Through that work we learned that engaging with the community is an effective way to help St. Charles meet its vision of creating America’s healthiest community, together.”
The American Academy of Family Physicians defines alcohol misuse as a spectrum of behavior, including risky (excessive) alcohol use, alcohol abuse or alcohol dependence. According to the 2018 Oregon Health Authority State of Health Assessment there has been a 38% increase in the overall rate of alcohol-related deaths in Oregon since 2001. Oregon also ranks third highest in the country for deaths related to alcohol.
“Alcohol misuse is a root cause of many chronic health and societal problems – liver disease, fetal alcohol syndrome, child abuse, domestic violence and the cause of many auto accidents that damage lives,” says Dr. Jeff Absalon, chief physician executive for St. Charles. “If we can reduce binge drinking, increase identification and interventions for alcoholism, and ensure that the norm for community gatherings that include alcohol is to drink responsibly, then Central Oregon will be healthier and safer.”
St. Charles leadership believes alcohol misuse prevention is a major health need in Central Oregon. As part of the Community Benefit program, the health system will partner with local organizations that are working to address this need in an effort to capitalize on the energy that surrounds the subject, and it will no longer sponsor events where alcohol is the primary focus, including fundraising events where alcohol is prominently featured in the title or promotional materials. “We hope that together with our community we can develop innovative ways to improve access to care where needed, increase educational and awareness offerings and reduce the negative impacts associated with alcohol misuse to the health of our communities,” says St. Charles’ 2020-2022 Regional Health Implementation Strategy.
The Community Benefit program will also provide financial support to groups that are trying to stem the tide of alcohol misuse in communities across the region. Exactly how that looks will be up to the individual communities, Salcedo said.
“Our hope is that each community will choose where to focus their time and energy around this issue. Maybe one will focus on teen drinking while another may want to focus on supporting parents who talk to their children about alcohol misuse,” he said. “St. Charles may find itself supporting communities in a variety of ways, such as offering financial assistance for projects identified by the community or providing medical experts and relevant research to enable community members to move forward in preventing the misuse of alcohol.”
Alcohol misuse prevention was identified as a priority based on the 2020-2022 Community Health Needs Assessment, which brought together population health data, input from community members, community survey results and analysis of available community resources to address health needs. St. Charles and the Central Oregon Health Council collaborated to conduct the research and develop the CHNAs.
As we navigate the turbulence of the past few months, I’ve been trying to keep an eye out for positive stories and progress to buoy my spirits.
It is important, of course, that we pay close attention to what’s happening across the country as the result of the COVID-19 pandemic, systemic racism and inequity, and that we try to understand it, learn from it and use it as fuel for self-improvement. In fact, it’s our moral duty.
It’s also OK to take a moment to celebrate the good things that happen, even if they often feel overshadowed by the tumult.
Earlier this month, the LGBTQ+ community (and its allies) had reason to celebrate when the U.S. Supreme Court issued a 6-3 decision holding that Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 prohibits an employer from firing an individual merely for being gay or transgender. The practical result of that decision is that it gives workers the right, no matter where they live, to be free to come to work as their true selves.
The decision reminded me that earlier this year, St. Charles applied to have all four of our hospitals listed on the 2020 Healthcare Equality Index, a nationwide guide to workplaces that promote LGBTQ+ health care equality. The results have not yet been announced, but based on our completion of the survey, we’re confident we will earn a score that will place us at the top level.
I’m very proud of our progress on this front, and I want you to know we didn’t get to this point by closing our eyes and wishing. It took a lot of hard work by many people – including our IDEA (Inclusion, Diversity, Equity, Acceptance) Council and our SOGI (Sexual Orientation Gender Identity) workgroup – who have helped St. Charles address LGBTQ+ health care disparities and provide an inclusive environment for LGBTQ+ patients and caregivers.
In response to the Supreme Court’s decision and in celebration of Pride month, St. Charles Senior Vice President and Chief Legal and Risk Officer Darren T. Binder wrote an essay about the significance of the ruling, our pursuit of health care equity and the changing legal landscape for the LGBTQ+ community over the past couple of decades. I really appreciate Darren’s expertise and perspective, and I would strongly encourage you to read it for yourself.
It would be a mistake to tout these accomplishments without also acknowledging that we can do better. St. Charles is responding to the events of recent weeks by embarking on a journey to learn, grow and understand issues related to diversity, inclusion and equity. While it’s not our first foray into this territory, I see and hear from many of our caregivers a renewed interest in pursuing progress in a deep and meaningful way. So we scheduled a moment of quiet reflection across the health system last week, we have encouraged our caregivers to share their thoughts on racism and social justice issues, and we’re using that information – confidentially, to be clear – to help plan a series of caregiver meetings in July. I can assure you that our leadership team is committed to investigating where we fall short in these areas, listening to our diverse populations, educating ourselves and looking for opportunities to better reflect our communities.
It’s not easy work but it is worth it. I believe it is an essential step in our journey toward truly caring for all.
Throughout much of the spring, Central Oregonians stepped up and supported St. Charles Health System in a variety of ways: by donating money for caregivers on the front line of the fight against COVID-19, by delivering a bounty of food and drinks to essential workers at the organization’s hospitals and by hand-crafting more than 10,000 cloth masks to supplement the system’s supply of medical-grade masks.
So when it came time to thank the community through action, St. Charles leadership zeroed in on Gov. Kate Brown’s plan to place paid and volunteer contact tracers in each Oregon county. Ensuring adequate contact tracing, Brown has said, will allow the state’s public health system to effectively identify and treat new cases of COVID-19, trace contacts to identify those at risk of infection and contain new outbreaks before community spread can occur.
“Throughout this pandemic, our health system has been buoyed by an outpouring of community support,” said Dr. Jim Guyn, senior vice president of population health. “Offering some of our caregivers to help with contact tracing felt like one way we could give back to Central Oregon. We want people to stay well and for local businesses to stay open.”
After discussions with public health officials in Crook, Deschutes and Jefferson counties, St. Charles identified six Community Health Educators from family care clinics in Bend, Madras, Prineville and Redmond to take the Oregon Health Authority’s online contact tracing training. Those six caregivers have not yet started working with the counties – that’s expected to start in July, after a few final details are nailed down – but they’re ready when the call comes, said Maggie O’Connor, manager of community health strategy for St. Charles.
“Everyone on this team was so willing to sign up for the training session and to get going,” she said. “It’s definitely a great opportunity for us to serve the community in a new capacity.”
The CHEs who’ll take on contact tracing work are Nancy Burham in Redmond, Molly Christopher in Madras and Sisters, Catalina Gibson and Molly Olheiser in Prineville, and Gabrielle Gilmore and Rachel Nelles in Bend. The six are uniquely qualified to do contact tracing because of the parallels to their normal daily duties, which include serving as an extra layer of social support for patients who are struggling with housing, food insecurity, transportation, finances, domestic safety and so on.
“If our providers or behavioral health counselors have a concern about a patient, we get pulled in to help wrap around them in the context of those social needs,” said Olheiser. “The really cool thing about our job is that we’re able to establish relationships with people, and we’re with them through some of the most stressful times of their lives as a resource and a source of support.”
CHEs work with patients both in the clinic and at their home, and they are trained to communicate with patients in a way that makes them feel comfortable talking openly about their lives. That skill should translate seamlessly to contact tracing, said Gilmore.
“We’ll be getting names of people who have come into contact with someone who has COVID-19, and we’ll interview them and follow up with them to make sure they understand the disease and what they should be doing,” she said. “That extended interaction with them will give us an opportunity to assess their resource needs and make sure they’re being met. And that’s obviously something we’re used to doing on a daily basis.”
In other words, both community health education and contact tracing require not just specific health-related knowledge, but also people skills, cultural competency, compassion and empathy.
“It’s a little nerve-wracking because I know COVID-19 can be a really scary thing for people, but we’re trained to deal with delivering that type of news and information,” Olheiser said.
Burham concurred: “You need to be able to think on the fly and to know what resources are available. We’re all highly trained and well-connected within Central Oregon.”
No one is sure how long the CHEs will assist the counties with contact tracing, but the aim is to have them in place well ahead of flu season, when COVID-19 could surge, O’Connor said.
Until they are asked to stand down, contact tracing will be the CHEs’ top priority, she said. And that’s OK with them.
“I’m excited because I really think that this is a way our team can help the community by helping to curb the spread of the virus and keep it contained,” Burham said. “We know COVID-19 spreads from one person to another to another, and if we can cut off some of those connections and slow the virus, that’s a great thing to be a part of.”
The COVID-19 pandemic has forced health systems like St. Charles to make rapid changes in a matter of days that previously would have taken months or years – and that’s a good thing.
“We know the health care industry needs to change,” said Joe Sluka, president and CEO of St. Charles. “People should have the right to access care the way they want to and at a price they can afford.”
Yet, the ability to change quickly has often been difficult in a complex, highly regulated system that doesn’t control most of its own costs or how it is paid for services. Because health systems, like other businesses, had to adapt quickly during the COVID-19 pandemic, now is a good time to evaluate the changes made, focus on what worked and on sustaining positive forward momentum.
To that end, St. Charles is asking patients and community members for help redesigning health care. The organization has put together a short survey and is asking for feedback on the current health care system and ideas for improvement.
“I hope we hear from thousands of Central Oregonians with their thoughts on how we can improve,” Sluka said. “We want all your wildly creative ideas along with information on your specific experiences to help us reframe the way we think about the services we provide.”
Those who are willing could also have the chance to participate in a virtual focus group to provide more detailed information and discussion on the topic of health care improvement.
When St. Charles Health System put out an urgent call for personal protective equipment (PPE) donations in March, communities throughout Central Oregon rallied. Where the health system wasn’t able to get critical supplies like N95 masks and nitrile gloves, dentist and veterinarian offices, and many other businesses stepped forward to help.
Within a week, St. Charles’ received more than 14,000 items, including N95 and droplet masks, lab coats, gloves, safety goggles, bottles of hand sanitizer and rubbing alcohol, bouffant caps and face shields.
Now that the global supply and distribution of such items has improved, ensuring St. Charles is able to comfortably meet the Oregon Health Authority’s PPE requirements for hospitals, the health system is working with Crook, Deschutes and Jefferson counties to re-distribute some of the donated PPE to those businesses that may need it.
“So many individuals and businesses generously spared what they could to make sure our frontline caregivers were able to care for patients during a time when PPE was incredibly difficult to get,” said St. Charles President and CEO Joe Sluka. “It was inspiring to experience that outpouring of support, and now we’re happy to give back and help those businesses that may need PPE to stay open.”
With the help of the Deschutes County Emergency Operations Center, which was able to distribute the PPE, St. Charles was able to give each county 7,000 latex gloves, 225 KN95 masks, 400 shoe covers, 1,500 surgical masks, 1,000 clear face shields and 150 isolation gowns, said Deschutes County Emergency Services Manager Nathan Garibay.
Local dentists, who needed PPE to reopen but did not meet the Oregon Health Authority’s priority criteria for PPE, received most of the supply.
“The county had to prioritize the distribution of PPE we did have to certain medical providers, so St. Charles’ donation allowed us to help other users who didn’t fall into those priority categories,” Garibay said.
In Jefferson County, Emergency Services Manager David Pond said the PPE has already been divvied up among BestCare Treatment Services, dentist offices, food banks, veterans’ services and a number of other nonprofit organizations. Any supplies that were left, he said, were added to the county’s mass casualty incident stock.
“It’s great that St. Charles is able to give these supplies back to the community,” Pond said. “Many of these items are still somewhat difficult to get and are an additional expense to businesses, many of which are experiencing financial stress.”
In Crook County, the Emergency Operations Center still has available thousands of nitrile and latex gloves, sizes extra small, small and medium. Some of the boxes have already been opened, so some of the gloves may not be suitable for use depending on the business, said Emergency Services Manager Michael Ryan. Those businesses that are in need of gloves may request them from the Prineville-Crook County Chamber of Commerce.
Kids and concussions: How to play it safe | Jan. 31, 2022
Every year, hundreds of thousands of school-aged children get concussions, a mild form of traumatic brain injury. But while concussions are common, the health impacts can be serious. Two concussion experts, Drs. Sondra Marshall and Viviane Ugalde, share information about concussions—what they are, how they happen and how local health care providers and schools are teaming up to better identify and treat children who experience one.
Prostate Cancer | Nov. 15, 2021
November is “Movember,” a month when global fundraisers focus on the important issue of men’s health, including prostate cancer. In this latest video, Dr. Cora Calomeni and Dr. Michael Wahl discuss the latest research and advancements in the treatment of prostate cancer. Learn more about the importance of screening and early detection, and lifestyle changes that can lower your risk of disease.
COVID-19 Variants and Vaccines | Sept. 20, 2021
The Delta variant is tearing through Oregon, fueling a record-breaking number of positive cases, hospitalizations and deaths. Join St. Charles Health System’s leading infectious disease expert, Dr. Cynthia Maree, to learn more about what distinguishes the Delta variant from its predecessor, why more breakthrough cases are occurring and what vaccine developments could lie ahead.
Originally from Corvallis, Ore., Dr. Maree is a graduate of the University of Oregon and the Stanford University School of Medicine. She has more than 15 years of experience in infectious diseases with special interests in hospital medicine and transplantation. She is a member of the Infectious Diseases Society of America and the Society for Healthcare Epidemiology of America.
Where there's fire, there's smoke | May 17, 2021
In Oregon, a single lightning strike can spell disaster, setting ablaze thousands of acres of forest and choking nearby communities with thick blankets of smoke.
When the smoke rolls in, what does it mean for your health? And what steps can you take to protect yourself?
St. Charles Pulmonology Clinic nurse practitioner Kathleen Prussian and critical care physician, Dr. Mark Bradford, explore the potential health effects of smoke and air quality, especially if you have a history of lung or heart disorders. They explain terminology used by the federal government to describe air quality and will show you how to access the air quality forecast online. They also spend time reviewing strategies for how to protect yourself—both at home and in the car—when there are changes in air quality.
Every second counts: Stroke care in Central Oregon and beyond | May 17, 2021
In the United States, someone has a stroke every 40 seconds. Every four minutes, someone dies of stroke.
Steven Goins, MD, a board-certified neurologist and co-founder of Stroke Awareness Oregon (SAO) covers the visible signs that a person is having a stroke, how to spot them using the F.A.S.T. method, and how to respond to give the person their best chance at a positive outcome. Dr. Goins also shares improvements to stroke care in Oregon, including increased advancements in medication, 24/7 interventional stroke care coverage at St. Charles Bend, cutting-edge technology that's saving lives and a new outreach program that's extending high-quality stroke care to people in rural areas throughout the region.
Breast cancer in 2021: Diagnosis to survivorship | March 29, 2021
If you’re a woman, you have a 1 in 8 chance of developing breast cancer in your lifetime.
So, how do you know your risk for breast cancer and how often should you be screened?
Dr. Kelly Hewitt, Central Oregon’s only fellowship-trained breast surgeon, answers your questions about what has become the most common cancer globally. Among the topics she addresses is how breast cancer is diagnosed, advancements in treatments and options for surgical management.
Hope on the Horizon: COVID-19 Vaccine | Jan. 11, 2021
In response to the COVID-19 pandemic, the world’s scientific community raced to develop an effective vaccine in record time. In just a matter of months, most people should be able to get it. St. Charles Health System’s leading infectious disease expert, Dr. Cynthia Maree, teaches us more about the vaccine—how it works, who will receive it first and what you can expect if you get it.
Why me? Cancer risk factors, prevention and the "bad luck theory" | Nov. 16, 2020
Confronted with a cancer diagnosis, every patient faces the "why me?" question. In this talk, Dr. Christina Fitzmaurice, a St. Charles Cancer Center hematologist and oncologist, explores the great knowns and unknowns of cancer risk and prevention strategies. She explains well-known common risk factors, but also explores exciting new insights into less-known determinants of cancer risks like the human microbiome.
Have you had the talk? | Sept. 22, 2020
It’s not fun to talk about health care choices at the end of life, but in this time of COVID-19, it may be more important than ever. The talk can help you know your loved one's wishes before you have to make a difficult decision. Dr. Laura Mavity, clinical director of St. Charles’ Advanced Illness Management program, teaches you how to start a conversation and why it matters.
Nothing to sneeze at! | July 22, 2020
A conversation about pelvic floor dysfunction
Everyone has a pelvic floor. As many as one in five – including a third of women – also experience pelvic floor dysfunction, or the inability to correctly relax and coordinate the muscles that support the bladder and rectum, the uterus and vagina in women, and the prostate in men. Symptoms include constipation, urine or stool leakage and frequent need to pee.
St. Charles OB-GYN, Sarah Hellmann, DO, helps remove the stigma around discussing PFD and gives you advice on what can be done about it.
The sugar poisoning of America | May 18, 2020
Understanding the link between your diet and your health
Board-certified cardiologist Dr. David Guarraia help you better understand our troubling consumption of sweetened food and learn more about the steps you can take to prevent chronic conditions like diabetes and heart disease, and improve your overall health. Dr. Guarraia is the director of cardiac rehabilitation at the St. Charles Heart and Lung Center. Guarraia joined St. Charles Health System in November 2018. He is currently the principle investigator of a low-carb diet study at St. Charles Bend.
The Vape Unknown | Jan. 13, 2020
What we do (and don't) know about vaping
Dr. Ryan Nelson, a St. Charles pulmonologist, explains what is currently known about vaping-associated pulmonary illness (VAPI) and its potential health consequences.
A University of Chicago Pritzker School of Medicine-trained physician, Dr. Nelson spent a full year doing research on lung disease. At St. Charles Bend, Dr. Nelson splits his clinical time between the pulmonary clinic and Intensive Care Unit, allowing him to diagnose and treat vaping-associated pulmonary illnesses along the entire spectrum of severity.
