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NEWS Vaccines Required

Oregon to require the vaccination of all healthcare and K-12 workers, as cases soar and positions go unfilled

By Jack Harvel

Jack Harvel

A sign instructs visitors that masks and distancing are required at the Bend La Pine School’s District building.

Oregon Gov. Kate Brown announced this week that healthcare workers and K-12 school employees need to confirm they have been fully vaccinated by Oct.18 to continue working. Previously, healthcare workers could regularly test themselves if they didn’t want to get vaccinated.

The announcement came as case numbers in Oregon are reaching record highs, trending upwards since mask and social distancing mandates were scrapped on July 1, when adult Oregonians surpassed a 70% vaccination benchmark. Oregon Health Authority data shows that 98.88% of the most recent cases are the more contagious Delta variant.

“The Delta variant has put enormous pressure on our health systems, and health care workers are being stretched to their absolute limits providing life-saving treatment for the patients in their care," said Governor Brown. "I am devoting all available resources to help, and we must proactively implement solutions right now. We need every single frontline health care worker healthy and available to treat patients." Brown ordered members of the National Guard to offer support at Oregon hospitals this week, including Bend’s St. Charles Medical Center.

St. Charles Health System currently has about 76.5% of its caregivers fully vaccinated. St. Charles’ public information and government affairs officer Lisa Goodman told the Source that with the limited information about the vaccine mandate’s implementation, it’s difficult to know whether the health system can reach 100% vaccination among staff by the deadline, or if some healthcare workers will retire or leave their jobs if the vaccine is mandatory.

“We can only speculate, but of course it’s possible some of our caregivers may choose to resign rather than get vaccinated. We’re preparing to share with our workforce more details about the mandate, as well the vaccine, which just today [Monday] received FDA [U.S. Food and Drug Administration] approval (the Pfizer-BioNTech version). Our goal is to provide as much information as possible so that our caregivers can make an informed decision,” Goodman wrote in an email.

The potential loss of staff poses a challenge for the healthcare system, already working through a staffing shortage that has factored into delays for patient care.

“We have many job openings across the system—about 800—but where we feel this shortage most acutely right now is at the bedside, where we need more than 200 nurses and certified nursing assistants,” Goodman stated.

School worker mandates

Brown’s mandate for workers at K-12 schools was implemented in an effort to keep schools in session year-round, and because the Delta variant has been hitting kids harder than in the past. Educational nonprofit Northwest Evaluation Association estimates that the distance learning implemented in the spring reduced retention of math by 50% and reading by 30% in third to eighth grade students.

“Our kids need to be in the classroom full-time, five days a week, and we have to do everything we can to make that happen," Brown said. "While we are still learning about the Delta variant, we know from previous experience that when schools open with safety measures in place, the risk of transmission is low. That’s why I’ve directed the Oregon Health Authority to issue a rule requiring all teachers, educators, support staff, and volunteers in K-12 schools to be fully vaccinated."

Redmond School District officials say they’re waiting to see the Oregon Health Authority rules before commenting, but the Redmond School Board will consider implementing a mask mandate during its regular meeting Aug. 25. District Superintendent Charan Cline has stated the district will follow required mandates, though many school board members oppose mandatory masking of students.

Bend-La Pine Schools did not respond to a request for comment about its masking or vaccination plans by the time this story went to print.

Venues require vaccines or tests

Brown announced outdoor mask mandates are returning on Friday, Aug. 27, for most public outdoor settings where social distancing isn’t possible.

“Masks have proven to be effective at bringing case counts down, and are a necessary measure right now, even in some outdoor settings, to help fight COVID and protect one another,” Brown said in a press release.

Previously some hospitality companies are enforcing vaccine requirements of their own volition. Bend’s Les Schwab Ampitheater announced it will require a negative COVID test or proof of vaccination to attend concerts starting with its Modest Mouse show Aug.29, and the Sisters Folk Festival, scheduled for October, will require proof of vaccination and will enforce mask mandates.

Vacunas Requeridas

Oregon requerirá la vacunación de todo el personal de atención médica y de los empleados de las escuelas de Kinder al 12o año a medida que los casos aumentan y los puestos no se cubren

Por Jack Harvel / Traducido by Jéssica Sánchez-Millar

La gobernadora de Oregon, Kate Brown, anunció esta semana que los trabajadores que brindan atención médica y los que trabajan en las escuelas de Kinder al 12o año, necesitan comprobar para el 18 de octubre que han sido completamente vacunados y así poder seguir trabajando. Anteriormente, los trabajadores que brindan atención médica y no querían vacunarse podían hacerse frecuentemente la prueba.

El anuncio surgió cuando el número de casos en Oregon están alcanzado niveles récord, con una tendencia a la alza desde que los mandatos del uso del cubrebocas y el distanciamiento social fueron descartados el 1o de julio, cuando las personas adultas de Oregon rebasaron el parámetro de vacunación de un 70%. La base de datos de la Autoridad de Salud de Oregon (OHA por sus siglas en inglés) muestra que el 98.88% de los casos recientes son la variante Delta, considerada más contagiosa. “La variante Delta ha puesto una enorme presión en nuestros sistemas de salud y los trabajadores que brindan servicios médicos están llegando al límite, al brindar tratamiento para salvar las vidas de los pacientes que están bajo sus cuidados,” dijo la gobernadora Brown. “Estoy dedicando todos los recursos disponibles para ayudar y debemos implementar soluciones preventivas en este momento” Necesitamos de todo trabajador que brinda servicios médicos de primera línea, los necesitamos con salud y disponibles para atender a los pacientes.”

Actualmente, St. Charles Health System, tiene cerca del 76.5% de sus proveedores de cuidado médico completamente vacunados. Lisa Goodman, directiva de asuntos gubernamentales e información pública de St. Charles, le dijo a the Source que con la información limitada sobre la implementación del mandato, es difícil saber si el sistema de salud puede alcanzar el 100% de la vacunación entre el personal para la fecha límite o si algunos trabajadores de atención médica se jubilarán o abandonarán sus trabajos si la vacuna es obligatoria. “Solo podemos especular, pero por supuesto, es posible que algunos proveedores de cuidado médico elijan renunciar en vez de vacunarse. Estamos preparándonos para compartir más detalles sobre el mandato con nuestra fuerza laboral, así como compartir lo de la vacuna, la cual hoy [lunes] recibió la aprobación de la Administración de Alimentos y Fármacos de los Estados Unidos (FDA por sus siglas en inglés) –(la versión de Pfizer-BioNTech). Nuestra meta es brindar toda la información posible para que nuestros proveedores de atención médica puedan tomar una decisión informada,” escribió Goodman en un correo electrónico.

La posibilidad de perder personal, plantea un desafío para el sistema de salud, el cual ya está trabajando con la falta de personal que ha resultado en atrasos en la atención del paciente. “Tenemos muchos puestos disponibles en todo el sistema laboral, cerca de 800 puestos, pero en donde se siente más fuerte la falta de empleados en este momento, es a la cabecera del paciente, en donde necesitamos más de 200 enfermeras(os) y auxiliares de enfermera(o) tituladas/acreditadas,” indicó Goodman.

Mandato para trabajadores de la escuela

El mandato para los trabajadores en las escuelas de Kinder al 12o año se implementó con el esfuerzo de mantener las escuelas abiertas durante todo el año y porque la variante Delta ha afectado más fuerte que antes a los niños.

“"Nuestros niños necesitan estar en el aula tiempo completo, cinco días a la semana, y tenemos que hacer todo lo posible para que eso suceda,” dijo Brown, “Mientras que seguimos aprendiendo de la variante Delta, sabemos por experiencias previas que cuando las escuelas abren sus puertas con medidas de seguridad establecidas, el riesgo de transmisión es bajo. Es por eso que le indique a la Autoridad de Salud de Oregon que emita una regla que exija que todos los profesores, educadores, personal de apoyo y voluntarios en las escuelas de Kinder al 12o año estén completamente vacunados.” Los representantes del Distrito Escolar de Redmond dicen que están esperando ver las reglas por parte de la Autoridad de Salud de Oregon antes de hacer comentario alguno, pero la mesa directiva de las escuelas de Redmond, considerará implementar un mandato del uso del cubrebocas durante su junta del miércoles. El Superintendente del distrito escolar, Charan Cline, ha declarado que el distrito seguirá los mandatos requeridos, aunque muchos miembros de la mesa directiva se oponen al uso obligatorio del cubrebocas para los estudiantes.

Al momento que se imprimió este artículo, las escuelas de Bend-La Pine no respondieron a la petición para compartir sus comentarios en relación al plan sobre el uso del cubrebocas o la vacunación.

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AIDing or Abetting?

A proposal to pipe over 13 miles of Arnold Irrigation District worries many of its patrons

By Jack Harvel

Jack Harvel

In April of 2019 patrons of Arnold Irrigation District received a postcard in the mail informing them of a plan to pipe the district’s 13.2-mile canal and inviting them to comment on the project. The meeting passed with little buzz, and AID patron Mark Elling said that was the last patrons heard about it until June 8 when the district released a draft environmental assessment—essentially a roadmap for the project.

Many AID patrons organized and attempted to steer the project in a different direction after seeing that the draft EA didn’t factor in property damage or loss of property value in piping costs, the loss of a water source for wild animals and trees and, perhaps most broadly, the loss of the flume, an over 80-year-old open half pipe that diverts AID’s irrigation water from the Deschutes.

“They said that they received over 400 separate public comments about the issue, which is very high compared to what other irrigation districts have received in my understanding,” Elling, a member of the patron group opposed to piping, said. “They did not specify which issues were driving that amount of opposition, but I would imagine the flume is a big part of it.”

The comments are not available to the public and the Source wasn’t able to verify the number of comments in favor or opposition to the project, as AID didn’t respond to a request for comment.

The preferred solution among the patron group is canal lining, in which geotextile liner and shotcrete are poured over earthen canals. Lined canals lose about 10% of water to seepage, whereas unlined canals in Central Oregon

Arnold Irrigation District’s flume branches off the Deschutes and provides AID with all their irrigation water.

soil can lose up to 50% according to the Deschutes River Conservancy. The draft EA says lining was considered, along with both piping and leaving the canal as is, and found piping was the cheapest option in the long term.

“Canal lining was eliminated, and it was one of the terms but it was eliminated from further study,” said Brett Golden, director of modernization at Farmers Conservation Alliance, the agency that prepared the study. “It’s the capital costs, the replacement cost and the maintenance costs.”

The EA estimates the 100-year cost of lining would be $80,864,000, compared to the $42,759,000 price tag for piping which

Courtesy Arnold Irrigation Golden says requires little to no maintenance. AID’s patrons who oppose the plan dispute this assessment. Elling compiled material and installation estimates and predicts a cost of $28.6 million to line the entire canal without safety ladders and fencing along the canals—costs FCA factored into its estimates. “I spent a couple of weeks just doing research with different contractors that either sell the material or install the material and putting together all the quotes,” Elling said. “Basically, they in their documents, blew up the costs 200% to 800%, higher than market to make that look not feasible. So, I think that the other methods that are out there are less expensive than a pipe.”

Patrons also worry about the impact to the ecosystem, arguing that the canal supports wildlife. Over the past 100 years animals relied on the canal for water, and the seepage from the canals supports trees in the area and filled wells. Though lining would also decrease seepage, nearby trees still benefit from the water.

“When you have a ditch that these trees and the wildlife have depended on for 110 years, it is part of the ecosystem,” said Chuck Fisher, an AID patron. “All these trees will die, all of the deer, all of the elk, all of the everything that needs water will inevitably have to go to the river.”

The draft EA claims 70-80% of trees survive piping in similar projects if actively irrigated by the landowner, and that piping is only one factor in losing groundwater.

“The studies that do exist show that canal piping contribute[s] a relatively small amount to water level declines as compared to withdrawals or climate, the climate being the biggest influence,” Golden said.

Where seepage isn’t an issue is at the flume, which stretches a mile off the Deschutes just before Lava Island Falls. Visible from the Deschutes River Trail and winding through backyards in Deschutes River Woods, the draft EA proposes the flume be replaced with a pipe. The proposed pipe would be buried, but the height would remain about the same as the flume and a service road would be placed on top.

“You can fix the flume without doing this massive pipe covered in dirt,” Fisher said. “You could literally take and put half pipes in there. If you want to leave it open and put it on the same thing that's through there.”

Golden said FCA will respond to comments about the flume after further research.

“We’re still looking back to make sure that we have that answer correct,” he said.

The EA says the proposal will modernize 149 of the district’s 646 patrons’ lines, saving an estimated 32.5 cubic square feet per second of water from seepage loss during the irrigation season. The excess water will be given to North Unit Irrigation District, which holds the most junior water rights in the Deschutes Basin and has more commercial agricultural production than other Central Oregon districts.

“That water will be passed to North Unit Irrigation District—in exchange they will release water in the upper Deschutes in the winter to support habitat conditions in the upper Deschutes for the first eight years or so of the Habitat Conservation Plan,” Golden of FCA said.

AID patrons opposed to the project can get behind its goal of supporting NUID, but disagree with the means to achieve them.

“That's where the real farmers are at and they're getting screwed,” Fisher, the AID patron, said. “But why don't we solve those problems, shotcrete, put the coffer dams in and you've already saved enough water that we're getting through this without putting a $40 million boondoggle through everybody's property.”