Clinics’ Corner, Spring 2009 |
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Rogue Valley Medical Center’s parent company will cut jobs and servicesMedford—Asante Health Systems is cutting nearly 100 jobs, closing its drug and alcohol treatment center, and selling a nursing center. The restructuring will also reduce the hours of 50 employees. According to the company, selling Hearthstone nursing and closing the Genesis substance abuse treatment center and Asante Home Care in Medford and Grants Pass will allow the company to concentrate on hospital-based services at Rogue Valley Medical Center in Medford and Three Rivers Community Hospital in Grants Pass. See The Mail Tribune for more information. Providence cuts Medford jobs, tooThe same article in The Mail Tribune reports that Providence Medford Medical Center has cut six positions, reduced its marketing budget, and is only filling positions with direct bedside care duties. Ashland Community Hospital has opened its new Health Resource Center The Ashland Community Hospital Health Resource Center is open to the public on weekdays from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. It is located in the hospital’s Diagnostic and Surgery Center at the corner of Maple and Chestnut streets. The educational materials include web site information, health reference books, books on medical and health-related topics, magazines and brochures. Volunteers can provide assistance locating materials, both in the center and on health-related data bases. The Ashland Daily Tidings reported on the center’s grand opening in March. Klamath Falls dental program to expand A partnership with the University of Washington is allowing the Klamath Falls Public Health Department to expand its preventive dental program for mothers and young children. More than $1.4 million will provide services for as many as 400 women and their young children in five counties over the next five years. The program focuses on teaching pregnant women proper dental hygiene and care for their children. The Klamath Falls Herald and News provides a longer report. OHSU “biodefense center” will study diseases Whether spread naturally or through a terrorist attack, new or re-emerging infectious diseases are a serious threat. That’s why Oregon Health & Science University is teaming with the University of Washington to create a regional biodefense center headquartered in Portland. A $40.7 million grant from the National Institutes of Health’s National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases is the source of the first five years of funding for the center, which will study ways to prevent or fight a public health crisis such as an influenza pandemic. The Register-Guard reports more. Welcome new providers
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Stimulus funds to promote services, jobs at Oregon clinicsTwenty-five Oregon community health centers have learned they will share a $6 million grant, which is part of the federal economic stimulus. The grants are intended to add staff and increase hours or services over the next two years. “These dollars will not meet all of the community health needs , but are certainly a step in the right direction,” says James Schroeder, CareOregon Director of Health Care Systems. “Community Health Centers received $2 billion total in the stimulus package,” James says. “So far, $150 million was put toward 126 new CHC clinics across the country, but none in Oregon. They essentially funded applications sent in last year that they didn’t have the money to fund.” The clinics include Coastal Family Health Center, Astoria; Columbia River Community Health Services, Boardman; Virginia Garcia Memorial Health Center, Cornelius; Benton Community Health Center, Corvallis; Lane County Health Department, Eugene; White Bird Clinic, Eugene; Asher Community Health Center, Fossil; Siskiyou Community Health Center, Grants Pass; La Clinica Del Carino, Hood River; La Pine Community Clinic, La Pine; Community Health Center, Medford, Ashland and White City; La Clinica del Valle Family Health, Medford; Lincoln County Health and Human Services, Newport; Waterfall Clinic, North Bend; Clackamas County Community Health Division, Oregon City; Central City Concern, Portland; Multnomah County Health Department, Portland; Native American Rehabilitation Association of the Northwest, Portland; Outside In, Portland; Mosaic Medical, Prineville; Umpqua Community Health Center, Roseburg; Northwest Human Services, Salem; Tillamook County Health Department, Tillamook; and Rinehart Clinic, Wheeler. The second wave is the $6 million shared by these Oregon clinics, of a total $340 million allocated across the country. The money was distributed using a formula approach ($100,000 base for each CHC, $6 for each patient seen in calendar year 2008 and $19 for each uninsured patient in calendar year 2008. The next wave of money will be $1.5 billion for capital investments. Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA) has said it will be in two forms. The first will be in a similar, non-competitive formula approach and the rest will be through a competitive grant application process. All of the capital dollars have to be used for capital purchases (buildings, remodel, land, equipment, health information technology, etc.). Medical education also received a fair amount in the stimulus package, James says. That includes $300 million for the National Health Service Corps, which provides scholarship and loan repayment for healthcare providers who agree to work in underserved areas. This new money will expand the program to include more students and providers and will allow loan repayment eligibility for part-time providers for the first time. “I am really excited to see that because of the stimulus package, National Health Service Corps will not only be able to expand the number of scholarships and loan repayment contracts, but will be able to offer loan repayment to part-time clinicians,” James says. “This is something that has been overlooked for a long time and will really aid in recruitment and retention for clinics in underserved areas.” |
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