UMATILLA COUNTY — COVID-19 may be transitioning to an endemic phase, but health care still was on the top of many Umatilla County residents’ minds at a Monday, March 22, virtual town hall hosted by U.S. Sen. Jeff Merkley.
“I am sick and tired of COVID. I'm hoping we're at the end of the tunnel,” he said. “We thought this a year ago and it turned out omicron was waiting for us.”
Good Shepherd Health Care System CEO Brian Sims said he was concerned rural hospitals wouldn’t have the infrastructure to handle the next health crisis should it occur. Merkley said he was pushing legislation that would direct money toward preparation for further mutations of the virus.
“I feel like it’s carrying an umbrella,” he said. “(When you) carry an umbrella, it won’t rain.I 'm hoping if we prepare right, we won't get a dangerous new mutation.”
In addition to housing and affordable child care, Cathy Putnam, a board member for Agape House, said there were plenty of county residents in need of mental health services but not many places to provide them.
Besides hiring more school counselors, Merkley said he would like to see a public education campaign about the negative effects of electronics, which he said were preventing youth from developing social skills.
Greg Goad of Pendleton told Merkley that Pendleton was suffering from the effects of pharmacy consolidation. With Bi-Mart closing its pharmacy last year, Pendleton has only three pharmacies, and Goad said wait times for prescriptions had increased significantly since then.
“What about next year if they do it again?” he said. “If we get down to one supplier, I'm afraid that costs are going to go through the roof.”
Merkley said he needed to study the issue more closely to determine why pharmacies were closing, but he added the economy was becoming too centralized among large corporations.
Briana Spencer, an enrolled member of the Confederated Tribes of the Umatilla Indian Reservation, asked Merkley what he would do to advance treaty rights and ensure the Confederated Tribes of Warm Springs had long-term access to water. The Central Oregon tribes recently issued an emergency conservation order after a fire shut down its water treatment plant.
With prices remaining high after a recent surge, Umatilla Mayor Mary Dedrick asked what Merkley is doing to lower gas prices.
In the short term, Merkley said there’s not too much that can be done. While the U.S. is releasing oil from its strategic reserve, it’s unlikely to make a dent in prices at the pump since the market for oil is set globally. Long term, the surge in gas prices should provide the country with an impetus to transition away from fossil fuels, a move that could potentially hurt Russian president Vladimir Putin.
“If the world gets off of fossil fuels, they won't be able to make nearly so much money,” he said. “Russia would never have undertaken this invasion of Ukraine if they hadn't built up a massive foreign reserve based on selling petroleum.”
This story was originally published by the East Oregonian newspaper and is posted here through the Associated Press' Story Share project.
