The Oregon Association of Hospitals and Health Systems is still waiting for a response to a letter sent six days ago calling on some rules to be tightened and others to be waived.
Aug 18, 2021
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A critical care nurse at OHSU gets a COVID-19 vaccine/Josh Andersen/OHSU
Chiropractors, EMTs and others have poor vaccination rates, reigniting debate about whether COVID-19 vaccination should be mandatory in the health care industry.
The hospital association argues for voluntary ER data reporting, seeking to avoid a new mandate or fees. But the state says the best way to ensure hospitals report this data -- and to help identify the misuse of emergency rooms for mental patients -- would be a statute.
The legislation backed by the Oregon Nurses Association gives teeth to the state’s hospital nurse staffing committees, which were set up 10 years ago to set hospital support staff levels based on patient need, but have not always been taken seriously.
Also, the latest filings by the Oregon Association of Hospitals and Health Systems showed that its president and CEO, Andy Davidson, saw his salary decline significantly.
A group of surgical technologists, or scrub techs, pushed House Bill 2876 to require standards for their profession and close a potential gap in patient safety. They’ve been after education and certification requirements for at least 15 years, and now a law is likely to take effect next year.
Two bills, sponsored by SEIU Local 49 and the Oregon Association of Hospitals and Health Systems, could lead to a frank discussion of hospital costs for the very first time.
The spending by doctors groups, nurses, hospitals, dentists and insurers helps underwrite legislators’ campaigns, as political action committees seek to influence legislation and the state budget in Oregon. Groups that gave less have had considerably less clout in Salem.
Andy Davidson, president and CEO of the Oregon Association of Hospitals and Health Systems, earned $1.2 million in 2012, considerably lower than his counterpart in Washington state.
