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Patients sleep at the Hooper Detoxification Stabilization Center in Portland on March 14, 2023. At Hooper, doctors and nurses oversee the medical needs of patients as they go through alcohol and drug withdrawal — a critical first step toward recovery. | EMILY GREEN/THE LUND REPORT

Meth, fentanyl pose new problems for overwhelmed detox providers Premium

Painful drug withdrawals that last longer, new mental health hurdles and lack of follow-up care are leading to missed opportunities, workers say

Jun 1

The Oregon Health Authority in Salem. | OREGON HEALTH AUTHORITY

Lawmakers advance increase to Oregon Health Authority budget

The budget overlaps with Gov. Tina Kotek’s priorities but leaves out two of her large funding requests

Jun 2

Oregon State Hospital Superintendent Dolly Matteucci speaks to the Oregon House Behavioral Health and Health Care Committee on Wednesday May 31, 2023. | JAKE THOMAS/THE LUND REPORT

Oregon State Hospital official says federal order moving admissions in right direction Premium

The psychiatric facility is getting closer to compliance with a federal civil rights ruling

Jun 1

State Health Policy

Oregon Capitol in Salem. | JAKE THOMAS/THE LUND REPORT

Health care bills without price tag or controversy slip past Senate standoff

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Oregon Senate President Rob Wagner, D-Lake Oswego, presiding over the chamber on March 21, 2023. | JAKE THOMAS/THE LUND REPORT

Stacks of health care bills in limbo as stances harden in Salem

May 25

The Capitol Building in Salem. | JAKE THOMAS/THE LUND REPORT

Improved Oregon revenue forecast could fund health care improvements

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Money Flow

PeaceHealth Sacred Heart Medical Center at RiverBend in Springfield. | COURTESY OF PEACEHEALTH

PeaceHealth, other hospitals’ cuts diminish communities’ access to care

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Oregon Health & Science University Center for Health and Healing Building 2 in the South Waterfront neighborhood, July 2020. | SHUTTERSTOCK

OHSU financial upswing continues as other hospitals falter

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Mid-Columbia Medical Center in The Dalles is tentatively being absorbed by California-based Adventist Health. | PHOTO BY LARVICK MEDIA/COURTESY OF MCMC

State OK’s Mid-Columbia Medical Center merger into Adventist Health

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Behavioral Health

Oregon State Hospital in Salem. | OREGON HEALTH AUTHORITY

Judge rules that hospitals can’t sue the state over civilly committed patients

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Oregon State Hospital in Salem. | BEN BOTKIN/THE LUND REPORT

Federal judge considers changes to state hospital discharge order

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Oregon State Hospital in Salem. | OREGON HEALTH AUTHORITY

Proposed fixes for Oregon State Hospital stall in Legislature

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Health Equity

A sign on top a fire engine reads "save our legacy mount hood family birth center.

Activists on Feb. 13, 2023, protested the proposed closure of Mount Hood Family Birth Center in Gresham. | JAKE THOMAS/THE LUND REPORT

Legacy’s Gresham maternity unit closure endangered patients, federal regulators say

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Yadira Martinez of Virginia Garcia Memorial Health Institute is one of the first dental therapists approved to treat cavities in Oregon. Lawmakers approved the profession in 2021 to save money and combat inequities, but pilot programs set up for training are slated to go away in less than two years. | COURTESY VIRGINIA GARCIA

They were supposed to fix dental shortages, but Oregon has only a handful

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The closure of Legacy's Mount Hood birth center was marked with a vigil on March 17, 2023. | JAKE THOMAS/THE LUND REPORT

Legacy reverses course on closure of Gresham birth center

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SHUTTERSTOCK

Measure 110 & addiction care

Check out our comprehensive coverage of how Oregon's landmark drug decriminalization law is impacting the state's addiction care system.

Hospitals

Legacy Emanuel Medical Center on North Graham Street in Portland. | LYNNE TERRY/THE LUND REPORT

Legacy Health sued over employee’s photos of man who died in 2021 fire

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PeaceHealth Sacred Heart Medical Center at RiverBend in Springfield. | CHRISTIAN WIHTOL/THE LUND REPORT

PeaceHealth, LifePoint plan rehabilitation hospital in Springfield

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Bay Area Hospital in Coos Bay. | COURTESY BAY AREA HOSPITAL.

Beset by unique, severe financial woes, Coos Bay hospital struggles forward

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Opinion

SHUTTERSTOCK

Opinion: Asante puts profits ahead of patients. It’s time to put people first.

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SHUTTERSTOCK

Opinion: Oregon’s behavioral health system is at a turning point

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SHUTTERSTOCK

Opinion: To measure Oregon’s psilocybin program’s impact, data must be collected

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Caregivers

SHUTTERSTOCK

Oregon nursing board tackles Florida certification fraud scheme

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St. Charles Health System in Bend. | COURTESY OF ST. CHARLES HEALTH

Nurses to vote on strike authorization at Bend hospital

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St. Charles Health System in Bend. | COURTESY OF ST. CHARLES HEALTH SYSTEM

St. Charles Health hit with class-action lawsuit over meal breaks

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SW Washington

MARK PATON/UNSPLASH

How new Washington laws aim to lower out-of-pocket health care costs

May 30

John Stejer sits in front of his home and holds a photo of his mother, Betty Stejer, 88, on Wednesday, May 24, 2023, in Everett, Washington. John moved his mother to Arizona in 2022 due to the difficulty of finding Medicaid-approved housing for her. | RYAN BERRY / THE HERALD

A Washington man’s struggle to get mom into assisted living: $22K, 1,500 miles

May 30

A large white building with a tall tower and staircase

The Washington State Capitol in Olympia. | SHUTTERSTOCK

Inslee signs drug policy overhaul into law in Washington state

May 18

Oregon Health Plan

SHUTTERSTOCK

Oregon Health Authority says so far most people will keep Medicaid as eligibility checks resume

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Members of the Oregon House of Representatives on March 21, 2023. | JAKE THOMAS/THE LUND REPORT

Lawmakers seek pause on new Oregon Health Plan contracts

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patient lies in bed next to a female medical worker who is examining a reading on a medical device.

FERNANDO ZHIMINAICELA/PIXABAY

State prepares to take 300,000 people off Oregon Health Plan as pandemic measures end

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Aging

U.S. Sen. Ron Wyden at a July 9, 2022 event in Portland. | PETER WONG/PAMPLIN MEDIA GROUP

‘Ghost’ providers abundant in Oregon, Washington, Senate report finds

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A girls hands release a butterfly into the sky

SHUTTERSTOCK

Oregon ‘death doulas’ increase in numbers, in Portland and rural areas

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A BUS IN OHIO DESIGNED TO LOOK GOVERNMENT-ISSUE INSTEAD REPRESENTED A SALES TACTIC TO MISLEAD THE ELDERLY, ACCORDING TO A FEDERAL REPORT./COURTESY OF U.S. SENATE

Study: Elderly ‘Inundated’ By Aggressive, Misleading Marketing Driven By Medicare Advantage Plans

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Rural Health

Morrow County Health District ambulances in northeastern Oregon. | COURTESY MORROW COUNTY HEALTH DISTRICT

Morrow County Health District sues to block ambulance competition

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Nurses and health care workers at St. Anthony Hospital in Pendleton. | COURTESY OREGON NURSES ASSOCIATION

Alleged wage theft from nurses at CommonSpirit hospitals in Oregon sparks lawsuit

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Mid-Columbia Medical Center in The Dalles is tentatively being absorbed by California-based Adventist Health. | PHOTO BY LARVICK MEDIA/COURTESY OF MCMC

Critics, backers emerge on Adventist plan to absorb Mid-Columbia Medical Center

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Children’s Health

The U.S. Department of Education headquarters in Washington, D.C. | SHUTTERSTOCK

As teens overdose on fentanyl, Merkley asks US Education Department to ramp-up prevention

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ILLUSTRATION BY SHUTTERSTOCK

Portland school district teaches advocacy group’s substance-use curriculum

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A student at Harmony Academy, a high school for teens in recovery, told The Lund Report he didn't realize he was smoking fentanyl until his parent had him tested. He thought the pills he was buying were oxycodone. | EMILY GREEN/THE LUND REPORT

State inaction left Oregon teens vulnerable to fentanyl’s fatal spread

Mar 7

Gender Health

McKenzie-Willamette Medical Center. | CHRISTIAN WIHTOL/THE LUND REPORT

Hospital in Springfield will shutter midwifery unit, sparking criticism

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Activists on Feb. 13, 2023, protested the proposed closure of Mount Hood Family Birth Center in Gresham. | JAKE THOMAS/THE LUND REPORT

Legacy Health sticks to tight timeline for closing Mount Hood birth center

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Dr. Mary Afsari-Howard, an OBGYN, speaks at a rally on Feb. 13, 2023, seeking to pressure Legacy Health to reverse its decision to close its Mount Hood Family Birth Center in Gresham. | JAKE THOMAS/THE LUND REPORT

Rally sounds alarm over closure of Legacy birth clinic in Gresham

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Oregon State Capitol in Salem. | RENAUDE HATSEDAKIS

Oregon Legislature

Fixing Oregon's faultering health care and behavioral health care systems are high on lawmakers' priority lists this session, and we're in Salem following those efforts.

Public Health

Rapid COVID-19 test. | SHUTTERSTOCK

New COVID wave coming to Oregon, forecaster says

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A critical care nurse at OHSU receives a vaccine during the height of the COVID-19 pandemic. | COURTESY OHSU

Oregon health systems require some masking despite end of mandate

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GERD ALTMANN/PIXABAY

COVID, flu and RSV trends moving in right direction, state official says

Feb 9

Access & Quality

The VA center in Portland is located next to Oregon Health & Science University. | U.S. DEPARTMENT OF VETERANS AFFAIRS

VA negligence led to leg amputation, allowed cancer to grow, suit says

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An employee of the Oregon Department of Consumer and Business Services helps a consumer pick a health care plan on the federal online health insurance marketplace. | DEPARTMENT OF CONSUMER AND BUSINESS SERVICES

Oregon health insurers propose premium hikes

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The OHSU Center for Health & Healing Building 2 in the South Waterfront neighborhood in Portland, Oregon, on July 25, 2020. | SHUTTERSTOCK

Oregon lawmakers further ease proton therapy coverage despite lingering debate

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Drugs & Pharmacies

THE LUND REPORT ILLUSTRATION/SHUTTERSTOCK

Bills intended to help Oregon pharmacies caught up in walkout

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THOMAS BREHER/PIXABAY

Oregon lawmakers ponder price limits for prescription drugs

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MEMED_NURROHMAD/PIXABAY

Bill seeks to put HIV drugs in hospitals across state and in hands of patients

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Housing & Poverty

SHUTTERSTOCK

House passes bill to boost Oregon hospitals’ charity care

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SHUTTERSTOCK

Bill would tighten charity care rules for Oregon hospitals

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The Red Lion Inn & Suites in Seaside was purchase by CareOregon so it could be converted into housing for health care workers, as well as people with behavioral health needs. | COURTESY OF CAREOREGON