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Hello Friends,
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Yours truly,
This afternoon, I attended a virtual meeting with administrators from Asante and other legislators from Jackson and Josephine Counties. The news was grim: Our hospital system, both Asante and Providence, are at capacity. Patients suffering strokes and heart attacks or needing surgery for cancer cannot be treated because resources and medical staff are stretched too thin. As of today, 400 necessary surgeries have had to be rescheduled, and that number will only grow. Asante is turning away patients unless they are at risk of losing life or limb in the next 24 hours. Hospital executives verified that patients are on gurneys in the hallways waiting for beds. This obviously has serious implications for all members of our community.
I will be working with our southern Oregon legislative delegation to ensure that our hospitals have the support they need in the coming weeks. Our doctors expect the peak of this outbreak to occur around the beginning of September, which means we will need additional support for several months. The governor today deployed 500 National Guard personnel to assist hospitals. While these guardsmen will play a vital role in testing and manning the county's Covid-19 hotline, they are not medical personnel. One of the biggest problems is DHS regulations that prevent nursing facilities from taking non-covid patients who still need some care, but no longer need to be hospitalized. We are going to push for additional medical personnel, expedited licensing, and reduction of these regulations so that our hospitals can accommodate everyone who needs care.
Watch for updates from my office about hospital capacity in the coming weeks.
As you know, the governor reinstated a mask mandate statewide in all indoor settings. That mandate goes into effect today. Grocery stores and other businesses will again be asking you to mask up before entering.
As you have probably heard, prior to her renewal of the indoor mask mandate, the governor had already mandated that students in school wear masks. She did not cite any studies showing that masks in schools are effective in preventing the spread of covid, nor did she cite what metrics triggered the mandate and therefore what metrics would need to be achieved in order to remove the mandate. For all these reasons, I joined the Medford School District in asking the governor for local control over K-12 mask requirements. While we are seeing the effects of the current outbreak in our hospital system, I believe it is appropriate for our local School Board to determine when and whether students should be required to wear masks this year. The situation in southern Oregon, while currently the worst in the state, is going to change independently of the rest of the state. We should have the ability to assess the current and future needs of our community and make the best decision for our students.
Capitol Phone: 503-986-1406
Capitol Address: 900 Court St NE, H-376, Salem, OR 97301
Email: Rep.KimWallan@oregonlegislature.gov
Website: http://www.oregonlegislature.gov/wallan
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