St. Charles prepares for potential strike of technical employees

BEND, Ore. – St. Charles Health System is continuing to prepare for a strike of its technical employees who are represented by the Oregon Federation of Nurses and Health Professionals. According to the notice received last week, the strike is set to begin at 8 a.m. on March 4 and will last for an indefinite period of time. OFNHP represents about 150 technical caregivers on the St. Charles Bend campus.

St. Charles has filed two unfair labor practice charges against OFNHP with the National Labor Relations Board because we believe the strike notice was not lawful and that the union is not bargaining in good faith.

“The National Labor Relations Act requires that when a first contract is being negotiated the union must provide at least 30-days’ notice of the contract dispute to state and federal mediation agencies so the dispute may be resolved without a work stoppage,” said Rebecca Berry, vice president of Human Resources for St. Charles. “As a result, we believe the strike notice is unlawful and the NLRB is now investigating that issue.”

It is our understanding the NLRB will not reach a decision before the March 4 strike date. Consequently, St. Charles has also filed a complaint for injunctive relief to ensure we can maintain health care services until the issue can be resolved.

A hearing is scheduled related to the injunction request in federal court in Eugene at 9 a.m. on Tuesday, March 2. If the injunction is not granted, the strike will not be paused, but the issue of the legality of the strike notice will remain before the National Labor Relations Board.

“It is our fundamental mission and responsibility as a health care organization to take care of our community,” said Aaron Adams, president of St. Charles Bend. “Although we believe the strike notice is unlawful, we will proceed with preparations to ensure continued care for our patients.”

Until the outcome of the injunction hearing is known, St. Charles is continuing to prepare for a work stoppage. The health system has contracted with an outside agency to hire qualified replacement workers and is also asking internal caregivers who hold technical certifications, but who are not part of the bargaining unit, to help fill hospital shifts. The goal is to reduce disruptions to patient care as much as possible.

“The union has indicated they are striking to get St. Charles to come back to the bargaining table,” Berry said. “We find OFNHP’s reasons for the strike confusing since we already had a bargaining session scheduled for March 10 with a federal mediator. We were also discussing additional, earlier bargaining dates with the mediator prior to receiving the strike notice.”

St. Charles requested a federal mediator to facilitate negotiations in order to speed up the process to reach a final agreement.

“We continue to be unclear as to what OFNHP hopes to accomplish with this strike,” Adams said. “But what we do know is the union’s decision to strike has an impact on our patients, our caregivers, our physicians and our community.”

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.

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St. Charles responds to OFNHP strike notice

BEND, Ore. – St. Charles Health System was disappointed to receive a 10-day strike notice from OFNHP today for a strike of indefinite duration beginning March 4. OFNHP represents about 150 technical employees at the St. Charles Bend hospital campus.

“We are in the midst of a pandemic where St. Charles and all of our caregivers have been at the forefront of treating our community members with COVID-19. Our organization is also deeply involved in running large-scale community vaccination clinics for three counties alongside our Deschutes County partners,” said Aaron Adams, president of St. Charles Bend and Redmond. “While this strike notice cannot slow our efforts to meet these critical community needs, it just adds new – and unnecessary – challenges when our community needs us most.”

The timing of this notice is completely inconsistent with what OFNHP has been asking of St. Charles. As recently as Saturday, the two parties were in discussion with a federal mediator to see if new dates for bargaining could be set in addition to the March 10 date that is already scheduled. The mediator offered dates on March 3, 4 or 5, which were under consideration when the strike notice was delivered. Because OFNHP has chosen to strike, St. Charles will now be required to direct its time to strike preparation rather than negotiations and will be unable to meet during the notice period.

The St. Charles bargaining team has been waiting since Dec. 3 for OFNHP to respond to its last negotiation offer. St. Charles and OFNHP have met 28 times to negotiate the first-time contract – 23 of them during a global pandemic.

“While the surge in COVID-19 cases over the past few months has made it difficult to continue bargaining with full bargaining teams, we have invited OFNHP to provide a comprehensive response via email or over the phone. OFNHP has not chosen to do so,” said Rebecca Berry, vice president of Human Resources for St. Charles Health System. “If OFNHP believes that progress is not being made, it needs to look at its own decisions. We were concerned enough about the lack of progress that we suggested bringing in a federal mediator and OFNHP agreed. Now, OFNHP has issued a strike notice without ever meeting with a mediator even though it had already agreed to the specific date of March 10 for our next session. We don’t understand OFNHP’s strategy.”

Because St. Charles leaders are concerned that OFNHP is bargaining in bad faith – and in doing so jeopardizing the patients in our community – the health system plans to file an unfair labor practice charge of bad faith bargaining with the National Labor Relations Board so that these concerns can be fully addressed.

“Again, we reiterate our disappointment in OFNHP’s decision,” Berry said. “St. Charles will take all necessary steps to ensure that care for our community continues in a safe and uninterrupted way.”

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, Sisters and La Pine. 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.

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BEND, Ore. — The Oregon Health Authority (OHA) has notified St. Charles Redmond that all COVID-19 tests in the previous 14 days related to the Redmond outbreak resulted negative, prompting the agency to lift the COVID-19 “outbreak” status of the hospital.

The health system’s investigation of the outbreak, which was traced to 28 people including 25 caregivers, revealed the source was a COVID-positive patient. 

Though the outbreak has resolved, many of the changes instituted at the Redmond hospital remain in effect, including:

• Increasing air exchanges to at least six times per hour, and even more frequently in patient rooms 
• Increasing air filtration to more than the CDC recommendation (+90% filtration at .3 microns) 
• Instructing caregivers who are within an arm’s length of a patient with respiratory symptoms for more than 15 minutes to use N95 respirators and eye protection throughout their shift while the outbreak is ongoing 
• Adding hand sanitizer and cleaning supplies to more locations throughout the facility 
• Asking caregivers to eat in the cafeteria or on the outside patio rather than in break rooms to create a larger space between caregivers when their masks are down
• Reducing maximum capacity in all break rooms and conference rooms to ensure physical distancing can be maintained 

Starting Wednesday, visitation restrictions will be lifted to allow one visitor per patient, per day.

“I have been impressed by the commitment and resilience of the Redmond community, caregivers, patients and their families to come together and comply with enhanced restrictions so we could resolve the outbreak as quickly as possible,” said St. Charles Redmond Chief Nursing Officer James Reedy. “We have learned lessons that we will continue to practice.”

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.

St. Charles identifies source of COVID-19 outbreak at Redmond hospital  

BEND, Ore. – St. Charles Health System’s investigation of a COVID-19 outbreak at its Redmond hospital revealed that the source was a COVID-positive patient. 

The patient—who had underlying health conditions that at times made it difficult to wear a mask—was admitted to St. Charles Redmond on Dec. 31 and was initially tested twice for COVID-19. Because both tests resulted negative, St. Charles caregivers continued to wear droplet precaution personal protective equipment (PPE).  

On Jan. 6, the patient was tested a third time for COVID-19, and that test resulted positive.  

After performing an investigation with the assistance of Deschutes County Health Services and the Oregon Health Authority, St. Charles’ Infection Prevention team determined the Redmond caregivers’ droplet precaution PPE was overwhelmed by prolonged exposure to the highly symptomatic COVID-positive patient.  

“The important learning from this outbreak is that negative COVID-19 test results are not foolproof,” said Dr. Jeff Absalon, St. Charles’ chief physician executive. “In spite of negative test results, if a patient is highly symptomatic, we will need to treat them as if they are COVID-19 positive and aerosolizing, in which case the higher level of PPE is required.” 

Evidence suggests that COVID-19 tests are most accurate five to seven days after exposure. The virus incubates up to 14 days, taking time to build up in a person’s system. 

To date, one patient and 33 St. Charles caregivers at the Redmond hospital have tested positive for COVID-19. Because the health system began its vaccination campaign Dec. 21, none of the 33 caregivers at the Redmond hospital were fully vaccinated. 

Today, the St. Charles Infection Prevention team expects to complete its outreach to patients who may have been at risk of exposure due to the timing of their stay at the Redmond hospital. All current inpatients at the Redmond hospital have been informed that none of them were exposed. 

“We have a strong contact tracing system in place for caregivers that is working to mitigate the spread of COVID-19,” Absalon said. “In the meantime, it’s important to stress that we feel confident our Redmond hospital is a safe place to receive care.” 

The health system has also instituted some changes at the Redmond hospital, including: 

·         Offering COVID-19 testing to all St. Charles Redmond hospital-based caregivers  

·         Asking caregivers to stay home and get tested if they have any symptoms of COVID-19, no matter how mild 

·         Increasing air exchanges to six times per hour 

·         Increasing air filtration to more than the CDC recommendation (+90% filtration at .3 microns) 

·         Instructing caregivers in direct patient care roles to use N95 respirators and eye protection throughout their shift while the outbreak is ongoing 

·         Adding hand sanitizer and cleaning supplies to more locations throughout the facility 

·         Asking caregivers to eat in the cafeteria or on the outside patio rather than in break rooms 

·         Adding maximum capacity signage to all break rooms and conference rooms to ensure physical distancing can be maintained 

·         Temporarily limiting visitors to a higher degree than before  

“This sort of situation isn’t any one person’s fault,” Absalon said. “Everyone is working hard to maintain a safe environment, and as an organization we continue to learn and adjust to improve safety for all.” 

An FAQ about the outbreak is also available on St. Charles’ website. 

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. 

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St. Charles Redmond reports workplace COVID-19 outbreak

BEND, Ore. – St. Charles Health System has reported an outbreak of COVID-19 cases at the St. Charles Redmond hospital campus to Deschutes County and the state of Oregon. An outbreak is defined as a cluster of cases that are related.

As of Wednesday, 31 caregivers had tested positive for COVID-19, and their cases are being investigated in collaboration with Deschutes County Health Services and the Oregon Health Authority.

“We are taking every possible measure to stop the spread of the virus, to protect our patients and our caregivers,” said Aaron Adams, chief executive officer for the Redmond hospital. 

In addition to existing COVID-19 precautions, the Redmond hospital has put in place new safety measures including:

• Offering COVID-19 testing to all St. Charles Redmond hospital-based caregivers
• Asking caregivers to stay home and get tested if they have any symptoms of COVID-19, no matter how mild
• Increasing air exchange to six times per hour
• Increasing air filtration to more than the CDC recommendation (+90% filtration at .3 microns)
• Instructing caregivers in direct patient care roles to use N95 respirators and eye protection throughout their shift while the outbreak is ongoing
• Adding hand sanitizer and cleaning supplies to more locations throughout the facility
• Asking caregivers to eat in the cafeteria or on the outside patio rather than in break rooms
• Adding maximum capacity signage to all break rooms and conference rooms to ensure physical distancing can be maintained

The hospital is also currently limiting visitors to the following groups only:

• A caregiver or attendant of a patient who needs assistance due to a language barrier or the patient’s disability, whether that disability is physical, developmental, intellectual, cognitive, behavioral or is related to altered mental status or communication, whose presence will assist the person with the disability in receiving treatment, ensure the safety of the patient or facility staff, or who must assist with activities of daily living 
• A close family member of a patient undergoing end-of-life care as determined by the medical provider in charge of the patient’s care 
• A parent or legal guardian of a hospitalized child. If one parent or legal guardian meets screening criteria but the other does not, only the parent or legal guardian who meets screening criteria must be guaranteed access

“We hope our community understands and will help us by following all COVID-19 restrictions, both inside and outside of our facilities,” Adams said. “The number of positive COVID-19 cases continues to be high throughout the region and we need your help to ensure we have a healthy workforce to care for you and your loved ones.”

It continues to be critically important for individuals to wear masks as well as practice physical distancing and good hand hygiene.

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.

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Four St. Charles nurses receive the DAISY Award to recognize their extraordinary, compassionate nursing care

BEND, Ore. – The following St. Charles Health System nurses have been honored with The DAISY Award for Extraordinary Nurses®, recognizing the outstanding, compassionate nursing care they provide patients and families every day:

Top-left: Candy Peplin, RN/neonatal transport, Neonatal Intensive Care Unit, Bend
Top-right: Karen Sagner, RN, float, Madras
Bottom-right: Ryan La, RN, Emergency Department, Prineville
Bottom-left: Elena Myers, RN, Medical Services, Redmond

Nominated by patients, families and colleagues, the award recipients were chosen by a committee at St. Charles.

The nurses—which represent all four St. Charles hospitals in Bend, Redmond, Madras and Prineville—were recognized with a ceremony on their respective units and presented with a certificate, a pin and a "healer's touch" sculpture by their hospital’s chief nursing officer. The DAISY honorees will also receive ongoing benefits, such as special rates for tuition and ANCC certification. 

"Our nurses are exceptional and deserve to be formally recognized for their dedication, spirit and the quality of care they provide in the community," said Iman Simmons, St. Charles Health System’s chief operating officer. "We are excited to celebrate all the stories of compassionate care we hear every day."

The DAISY Foundation is a not-for-profit organization that was established in memory of J. Patrick Barnes by members of his family. Patrick died at the age of 33 in late 1999 from complications of Idiopathic Thrombocytopenic Purpura (ITP), a little known but not uncommon auto-immune disease. (DAISY is an acronym for Diseases Attacking the Immune System.) The care Patrick and his family received from nurses while he was ill inspired this unique means of thanking nurses for making a profound difference in the lives of their patients and patient families.

"When Patrick was critically ill, our family experienced first-hand the remarkable skill and care nurses provide patients every day and night,” said Bonnie Barnes, FAAN, president and co-founder of The DAISY Foundation. “Yet these unsung heroes are seldom recognized for the super-human, extraordinary, compassionate work they do. The kind of work the nurses at St. Charles are called on to do every day epitomizes the purpose of The DAISY Award.”

This is one initiative of The DAISY Foundation to express gratitude to the nursing profession. Additionally, DAISY offers J. Patrick Barnes Grants for Nursing Research and Evidence-Based Practice Projects, The DAISY Faculty Award to honor inspiring faculty members in schools and colleges of nursing and The DAISY in Training Award for nursing students. More information is available at http://DAISYfoundation.org.

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.

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First St. Charles caregivers receive Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine dose

BEND, Ore. – At 11 a.m. Monday, the first group of six St. Charles caregivers made their way into the conference area at the Bend hospital to receive what many are calling a “shot of hope” in the arm.

“It is no small feat to set up a precision vaccination program so quickly. It really has been a great team effort,” said Dr. Fran McCabe, an emergency room physician at St. Charles Bend, who was part of the first group to be vaccinated in Central Oregon. “I feel very grateful to be included in the first group of hospital staff to receive this vaccine. While it’s very exciting, I realize that it is just a first step in a long journey and we will all need to remain vigilant.”

Safely spaced in the area at the same time as McCabe, Jonathan Calles, a certified nursing assistant, DJ Pierce, a respiratory therapist, Becky LaCoss, an environmental services caregiver, Cathy Davila, a phlebotomist in the emergency department, and Julie Bostrom, a registered nurse in the emergency department, proudly rolled up their sleeves and received their vaccinations. All of these caregivers have been caring for and supporting COVID-19 patients for many months.

The clinic Monday was the first of many. St. Charles plans to administer its first wave of 975 doses today through Wednesday of this week. The health system expects to receive a second shipment of 975 doses later this week that will be administered Monday through Wednesday of next week.

“As you can imagine, the logistics behind scheduling caregivers from a variety of departments at different times while also ensuring we have a trained army of vaccinators and that the pharmacy team is prepared to thaw and dilute the doses – all while keeping everyone involved safe – has been a monumental task over the past few weeks,” said Dr. Jeff Absalon, chief physician executive for St. Charles. “We are so grateful to the hundreds of caregivers who have stepped up to make this day possible. And we are thrilled that many of our caregivers will soon have much greater protection against this terrible virus.”

St. Charles is working closely with the Oregon Health Authority and local public health departments on the next steps in the vaccine roll-out plan to community health providers, EMS agencies and others on the frontlines of this fight.

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.

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A historic day: St. Charles Bend receives its first allotment of the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine

BEND, Ore. – The Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine is here.

At 10:25 a.m. Thursday, a FedEx truck special delivered its only cargo—a single temperature-controlled box of 975 doses—to the St. Charles Bend loading dock where Debra Carlson, an inventory coordinator for the hospital’s inpatient pharmacy, officially received it.

“This is a historic moment,” said Joe Sluka, president and CEO of St. Charles Heath System. “In the same year a global pandemic landed in the United States, the scientific community delivered a vaccine. It’s a remarkable achievement that gives us hope as we continue to battle this virus and try to return our world to some version of normal.”

Carlson, who donned safety goggles and a special pair of thick gloves designed to protect her hands, helped transport the box back to the inpatient pharmacy, where the doses were carefully unpacked and placed in an ultra-cold temperature freezer capable of storing them at -70 degrees C.

The vaccines will remain in the freezer until Monday morning, when the pharmacy team will begin dethawing and diluting individual doses in preparation for administering them to the first group of caregivers at noon. It is expected all 975 doses will be dispersed by the end of Wednesday.

In the meantime, St. Charles caregivers who are eligible for vaccination are receiving notifications via text and email with information about when they are scheduled to receive their first dose.

The Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine is administered in two doses 21 days apart, so only after receiving a second dose three weeks out will they be considered fully vaccinated.

The vaccine arrives on a day when St. Charles Bend has 50 inpatients with COVID-19, four of whom are in the Intensive Care Unit and two of whom are on a ventilator. The health system continues to postpone some elective surgeries to free up the staff and beds needed to care for the highest need patients.

“This year has been a difficult year for all of us, and the fight is not over yet,” said Dr. Jeff Absalon, St. Charles’ chief physician executive. “The stress on our health system continues to be very real. On Tuesday, every one of our ICU beds were full. While today is certainly one to be celebrated, we must acknowledge the difficult road still ahead of us and continue to be vigilant in halting the spread of the virus.”

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.

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BEND, Ore. – St. Charles Health System is hosting a medication take-back event on Saturday, Oct. 24, from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. at its St. Charles Bend hospital campus at 2600 NE Neff Road.

The take-back event is intended to help households dispose of medications that could be ingested by someone other than the person for whom they were prescribed and to prevent medications from ending up in the water table.

In 2019, the second year the event was held, St. Charles collected 327 pounds of medication from more than 300 people.

No questions will be asked. Individuals can drive through the parking lot and drop off medications right from their car window. Bend police officers will accept the medications, then give them to the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) to dispose of safely.

Any medications will be accepted. Liquids, pills, powders, patches, creams, prescriptions or over-the-counter medicines can be dropped off. Oncology medications will also be accepted.

Representatives from St. Charles pharmacy will also be on-site to answer questions.

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.

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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.

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