Wednesday, January 24, 2024
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Lincoln County, Oregon
Beyond the winter storms JEREMY C. RUARK Country Media, Inc.
Neighborhoods in Lincoln County and across Oregon continue to clean up after a series of hash snow, ice, and windstorms. The vicious storms brought down thousands of trees across Lincoln County and across the state. Inland, downed trees and fallen powerlines killed 10 people in the Portland metro area, The storms closed school districts and disrupted businesses and left thousands without electricity. Local State of Emergency declarations The Lincoln City City Council adopted a State of Emergency declaration Jan. 17 following the storms. “Making a disaster declaration gives the city an opportunity to obtain STORMS on Page A9
State of Emergencies declared in Lincoln City, Newport, county, state
Courtesy photo from Frank Covacevich A rainbow between the storms stretches from the ocean inland at Coronado Shores as a sign of hope and better weather ahead.
Hospitals move to overcome challenges JEREMY C. RUARK Country Media, Inc.
Lesley Ogden, MD, CEO of Samaritan North Lincoln Hospital and Samaritan Pacific Communities Hospital, is optimistic about 2024. Ogden was scheduled to share her vision of medical services in the community during the Lincoln City Chamber of Commerce luncheon Jan. 23. Before the event, she agreed to give us her insight in the following one-on-one interview.
vices was on track to either break even or suffer small losses due to lower revenues and higher costs than normal, especially in quarter four. Samaritan has avoided losses previously by proactively controlling costs and enhancing revenues through a continuous improvement program in place since 2017. However, as our costs continue to escalate and revenues remain flat or decrease, it has become much more challenging. Lincoln County Leader:
Courtesy photo from LCPD Police investigators suspect that this crash was caused by speed.
Speed suspected in local highway crash JEREMY C. RUARK Country Media, Inc.
Lincoln City Police Department officers responded to a serious motor vehicle crash at approximately 8:25 p.m. Jan. 16, on S Highway 101 near S 51st Street. Upon arrival, they found the two involved vehicles, a silver Subaru WRX and a black Toyota Sequoia SUV, had sustained extensive damage as a result of the collision. The driver of the Subaru, identified as 20-year-old Trevor J. Norton of Siletz, was still in his vehicle and had sustained injuries in the crash,” according to LCPD Lt. Jeffrey Winn said. “The driver of the Toyota, identified as 45-year-old David P. Mizelle of Lincoln City, Oregon, was also still in his vehicle and had sustained injuries in the crash.” Winn said North Lincoln Fire & Rescue and
Pacific West Ambulance quickly responded to the scene and began medical treatment of both drivers, “Based on the subsequent investigation that included witness statements, officers learned the Subaru WRX was traveling southbound on S Highway 101 at a high rate of speed when the driver lost control and collided with the center island that divides northbound and southbound lanes of travel,” Winn said. “The Subaru reportedly went airborne and collided with the oncoming Toyota Sequoia. The impact also caused a portion of the Subaru’s windshield to be launched onto the air, and partly landing on the roof of a nearby house.” Both drivers were transported to Samaritan North Lincoln Hospital for further medical treatment. The ex-
tent of their injuries was not immediately available. Highway 101 was blocked in both directions until about 9:30 p.m. “Norton was arrested and cited and released at the hospital on charges of Reckless Driving and Reckless Endangering,” Winn said. “Other potential criminal charges are being investigated and will be submitted to the Lincoln County District Attorney’s Office for review.” Winn said police did not find any indication at the time of the investigation that alcohol or drugs were involved in the crash. According to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) speeding-related fatalities increased 8 percent from 2020 CRASH on Page A9
Lincoln County Leader: Could you give us a brief summary of your presentation, the highlights? Lesley Ogden: I was asked to concentrate on access to care, especially how to make an appointment if you don’t have internet services; vaccination information, especially COVID-19, influenza, and the newly available RSV vaccine; and a hospital/medical update on new service lines, facilities, the rural family medicine residency, etc. Lincoln County Leader: According to an OregonLive report last April, in 2022, most of Oregon’s hospital suffered significant financial losses in what officials called one of the worst years in three decades triggered by higher labor costs and longer patient stays. Did Samaritan’s Lincoln City and Newport hospitals see financial losses in 2222 and 2023, and if so, how much? If not, how did Samaritan avoid the losses? Ogden: We don’t yet have year-end figures for 2023, but Samaritan Health Ser-
1422 N Coast Hwy 101 • Newport • 541-265-7731
What is the average patient hospital stay at Samaritan’s Lincoln City and Newport hospitals and what is the target for 2024-2025? Ogden: As of November 2023, the average length of stay at Samaritan North Lincoln Hospital is 4.7 days (identical to 2022) and at Samaritan Pacific Communities Hospital it is 4.1 days (down from 4.3 in 2022). As critical access hospitals, we are required to maintain an annual average length of stay of 96 hours (4 days) or less for acute care patients, but over the past four years it has become difficult to discharge patients within 96 hours. There are many reasons for this: lack of post-acute care bed availability, lack of bed availability at hospitals offering higher levels of care, and difficulty finding timely transport options due to workforce challenges. However, as we start 2024, we are either holding stable or decreasing our lengths of HOSPITALS on Page A8
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