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The main campus of the Oregon State Hospital is in Salem. | MICHAEL ROMANOS/OREGON CAPITAL CHRONICLE

‘Significant vacuum’ in leadership threatens Oregon State Hospital’s stability, warns medical expert

Court-appointed outside expert raises questions about the resignation of Dr. Sara Walker and concerns over what her absence means for the state’s largest psychiatric facility

May 15
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Large red building, the Oregon State Hospital

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

Updated: Oregon State Hospital's new 30-day safety plan provides broad strokes but few details

The three-page plan focuses on assessing patients risks, increasing staffing to operate more like a 24/7 hospital, and providing clearer direction and empowerment to staff

Apr 30
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Oregon State Hospital in Salem, Oregon, on Nov. 21, 2023. | JAKE THOMAS/THE LUND REPORT

Another patient’s death, another new leader add to turmoil at Oregon State Hospital

Kotek gives Dave Baden 30 days to issue a public plan to ease concerns, but one lawyer says Oregonians deserve more information and a lasting fix for the psychiatric facility

Apr 15
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Jim Diegel, former head of St. Charles Health System, tapped as temp for state hospital superintendent

An experienced hospital operations strategist, Diegel is tasked to turn around a long-troubled institution that is a lynchpin of both the state’s behavioral health and criminal justice systems

May 28
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OHSU Doernbecher Children's Hospital has a level 1 pediatric trauma center. | OHSU/CHRISTINE TORRES HICKS

Cutting coverage for undocumented people in Oregon could increase costs elsewhere

The Trump administration threat to states like Oregon will either reduce funding for the state or increase the need for costly emergency care at hospitals. Those costs would be passed on to businesses and individuals in the state who buy commercial health insurance.

May 29
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SHUTTERSTOCK

Republicans aim to punish states like Oregon that insure unauthorized immigrants

Advocates argue it saves money to provide the insurance, but unless those states roll back the benefits, Republicans plan to slash billions in Medicaid reimbursements

May 27

A sign for Providence Hood River Memorial Hospital, Jan. 10, 2025. | ANNA LUECK FOR OPB

Oregon hospitals’ bleak financials leaves them vulnerable to tariffs, proposed Medicaid cuts

A new report from the Hospital Association of Oregon shows half of all hospitals in the state are in the red again, raising the stakes if the U.S. Congress makes cuts to federal benefit programs.

May 1

SHUTTERSTOCK

Oregon hospitals house mentally ill for long periods, dashboard shows

New state website supports longstanding complaints that hospitals have become a stopgap for holes in the Oregon mental health system

Apr 24
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State Rep. Nancy Nathanson, D-Eugene, speaks to the Oregon House Commerce and Consumer Protection Committee on March 20, 2025. Nathanson was testifying in favor of a bill that would give the state attorney general powers to investigate and fine health care monopolies. | JAKE THOMAS/THE LUND REPORT

Oregon health insurers, hospitals oppose bill to establish oversight by state justice department

State Rep. Nancy Nathanson’s legislation would prohibit contracts like the ones that critics say helped make Lane County a primary care desert last year, but health insurers and others say it goes too far

Mar 20
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HHS Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. speaking before a Senate Appropriations Subcommittee, May 20, 2025. | WEBCAST SCREENSHOT

HHS presses health care providers, hospitals to curb gender-affirming treatments for kids

With the threat of withholding Medicaid payments, Kennedy pushes states to follow HHS recommendations which are widely criticized by health organizations as failing to meet established scientific standards

May 29

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