Davis

We talk a lot about the future here at Grande Ronde Hospital and Clinics. Perhaps it’s because we’ve had a front-row seat these past two years watching a significant piece of our future become a reality.

Many members of our community have toured the new building this past year during construction. It has been exciting to watch their faces light up when seeing the possibilities firsthand, the state-of-the-art layout of our five new operating rooms, or the breathtaking view of the valley from the post-op recovery rooms.

Over the past two years, this facility has evolved from a significantly historical construction project into a symbol of hope and healing to so many people. Broader opportunities to stay home for our health care provides a comforting option to the expense and burden of traveling when that Hometown Touch means more than ever.

The new surgical services wing will also provide us greater options in physician recruitment and provider retention. This will expand job opportunities and economic growth to benefit Union County for generations to come. Just two reasons why this project is so important to the people we serve.

What isn’t talked about enough is how we are able to bring this opportunity for big city medicine to our small, rural town in Northeast Oregon.

For more than a century, GRH has been determined to remain locally owned and self-governed. Our commitment to independence is not only attractive to new providers, but has also allowed GRH to remain nimble and proactive as we assess and implement what works best for our community right here and now.

Having committed men and women from our county who volunteer their time to serve on our board of trustees is crucial to keeping local health care vital, vibrant and thriving in this region. The new space would not have been possible without their forward-thinking input.

While we watch the new building rise, our GRH family continues to put our patients first in the space we have. We work together to seek solutions to potential concerns and improve patient care.

One example is an interdepartmental team that first came together more than a year ago to assess and implement care protocols. In December, the team’s work resulted in our celebrating more than 500 days without a patient fall injury.

Another example of our efforts to deliver the best care possible is the national recognition we received in November for our Excellence in Outcomes — a performance leadership award based on the health care industry’s most comprehensive and objective assessment of rural hospital performance.

Our award was an achievement within the top quartile of rural hospitals across the nation within the spectrums of quality, outcomes and patient perspective. The data used to determine the award is the same data used by rural hospitals and health systems, rural hospital associations and state offices of rural health all around the nation to measure and monitor performance.

In October, we were once again honored nationally for our digital health efforts with a Most Wired award. In comparison with more than 55,000 facilities, GRH ranked above many of our peers in categories like analytics and data management, population health, infrastructure and patient engagement.

National news has highlighted the growing challenges our industry faces from growing cybersecurity threats, evolving care models, staffing shortages and budget constraints; the importance of the strength and adaptability within our technology solutions will be a significant piece of health care’s future. GRH has been ahead of this curve for decades and we continue to remain so.

Finally, this has also been a good year for expanding our provider base, as our 2023 recruitment efforts achieved an additional seven new providers in urgent care, primary care, family medicine and emergency services. This includes Union County’s first pulmonologist, bringing a brand-new health care service line to the area for pulmonary care — right here at home.

Has 2023 presented us with challenges? Definitely. But what has also made this year great is really simple. It is the combination of our entire GRH family working as a cohesive team to best serve our patients every day without thought of recognition.

It is our beautiful, state-of-the art new addition to our campus that will benefit the entire community in so many ways. And it is our independent spirit of self-reliance and our solution-oriented dedication to decision making that has made 2023 a great year.

We believe 2024 will provide us with the room to breath, heal and find hope.

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