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The Oregon Health Authority in Salem. | OREGON HEALTH AUTHORITY

Former Oregon Health Authority Employee Indicted In COVID-19 Fraud Scheme

Prosecutors allege the former employee set up a sham company that received nearly $1.5 million in fraudulent COVID-19 relief payments.

Apr 20, 2022

Providence St. Vincent Medical Center in southwest Portland. | M.O. STEVENS/WIKIMEDIA COMMONS

Nurses At A Providence Hospital Plan To Vote For Possible Strike

The vote would give nurses at Providence St. Vincent Medical Center the ability to go on strike but not require it.

Apr 19, 2022
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DONA TEMPEST/KHN

Why Cheap, Older Drugs That Might Treat COVID Never Get Out Of The Lab

A few older drugs show promise as COVID-fighters, but some scientists say the pharmaceutical industry has shown little interest in testing them when it can earn billions from mediocre new ones.

Apr 19, 2022

Some companies set up outdoor seating to maintain business during the pandemic, like the Bijou Cafe in downtown Portland. Others, citing harm to their business, didn't follow the state mask mandate and were fined. | SHUTTERSTOCK

Dozens Of Companies That Defied COVID Mandates Are Fighting Nearly $1 million In Fines

Over the past two years, Oregon workplace safety officials were deluged with complaints, and they cited an unprecedented number of violators.

Apr 19, 2022

SHUTTERSTOCK

Masks No Longer Required At PDX Following Florida Court Ruling

Portlnd International Airport has decided not to enforce a federal mask mandate in the wake of a federal court ruling in Florida, though the Centers for Disease Control still recommends them during transit.

Apr 19, 2022

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

Oregon State Hospital Patient Punched In Head In Altercation With Staff

A temporary staffing agency aide was banned after he struck a patient who’d called him a racist epithet, records show.

Apr 18, 2022
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Oregon Health & Science University Center for Health and Healing Building 2 in the South Waterfront neighborhood, July 2020. | SHUTTERSTOCK

Amid Tensions, OHSU and AFSCME Bargain For A New Contract

Controversial administration ‘phishing’ email came as negotiations for 7,500 employees entered their fifth week.

Apr 18, 2022
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SHUTTERSTOCK

Providence Pays $22.7 Million To Settle Whistleblower Complaint

A doctor’s investigation of his colleagues sparked a U.S. Department of Justice investigation into allegations of fraudulent billing in Washington state.

Apr 14, 2022
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IN THE U.S., 31.8% OF ALL LIVE BIRTHS IN 2020 WERE CESAREAN SECTIONS, DRIVEN BY HIGH NUMBERS IN THE SOUTHEAST, WHERE BIRTH OUTCOMES ARE GENERALLY WORSE THAN IN OTHER PARTS OF THE COUNTRY, ACCORDING TO THE CDC. MISSISSIPPI'S RATE IS THE HIGHEST, AT 38.2%. OREGON DOES BETTER THAN MANY STATES./LYDIA ZURAW/KHN

Persistent Problem: High C-Section Rates Plague The South

Overall, 31.8% of all births in the U.S. were C-sections in 2020, but they vary significantly, and Oregon's past reform efforts may have contributed to a better ranking than many states.

Apr 14, 2022