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Severely short on nurses, Central Oregon hospital system quietly declares crisis
St. Charles Health System leaders adopted “crisis standards of care” to avoid having to comply with rules that govern nurse staffing levels. They rescinded the move after OHA said it would violate state law.

St. Vincent nurses approve contract, averting strike at one of Oregon’s largest hospitals
The Oregon Nurses Association says the new contract delivers higher wages and a better system to guarantee Providence St. Vincent nurses get to take meal breaks.

Central Oregon’s St. Charles lays off 2 top executives as patients face severe staff shortage
Medical providers at the region’s only hospital system now must scrutinize patient admissions and move people out of the hospital faster, “sometimes uncomfortably early.”

Medical techs organize union at Pendleton hospital
The Oregon Nurses Association announced last week that 40 health care technical workers were forming a union at St. Anthony Hospital in Pendleton.

Oregon’s hospital merger law may further protect abortion access in the state
Oregon's strict law regulating health care mergers may keep religiously affiliated health systems that do not provide abortion care from expanding

Nurses vote to authorize strike at 2 Providence hospitals, reach agreement at 3rd hospital
No longer convinced their employer is committed to service, roughly a third of nurses employed by Providence said they were ready to strike. Then Providence agreed to pay hikes and staffing changes at the health system's St. Vincent hospital in Portland.
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Most Oregon hospitals owe federal government for early pandemic loans
Cash advances from the federal government were a windfall for hospital systems early in the pandemic, but the strain hasn’t stopped and now the loans have come due.

At Oregon’s Salem Health, the doctor will see you now — in the hallway
More than 700 days have passed since the first confirmed case of COVID-19 in Oregon. Deep into the second year of the pandemic, the staff at Salem's only hospital are fighting to keep serving all the patients that come through their doors, without breaking under the pressure.
One in 10 of Oregon’s hospital beds are occupied by patients ready to leave — with nowhere to go
Oregon's hospitals are so short on beds, many have been forced to cancel elective surgeries. One underreported problem: about 10 percent of hospital beds are occupied by patients who are ready to leave but have nowhere to go.
Forecast: Oregon will see far fewer omicron-linked COVID hospitalizations than originally feared
OHSU cut its original hospitalization forecast by more than half, based on reports that, while the omicron virus is leading to more COVID-19 infections, people are not getting as severely ill.