VA to mandate vaccines for health workers in Oregon, including Eugene
Amelia Templeton, Kate Davidson and Rob Manning
Oregon Public Broadcasting
The U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs announced it will require COVID-19 vaccinations for its front-line health care employees, including doctors, nurses, and dentists.
Employees will have eight weeks to be fully vaccinated and can get the shot for free at any VA facility.
It makes the VA the first health care system in Oregon to require the vaccination; state law generally prevents such mandates for health care workers.
The policy will apply to the VA Portland and Roseburg health care system and all of its facilities, a spokesman said.
Most Oregon hospitals made a profit in 2020, thanks to federal help
Amelia Templeton
Oregon hospitals made it through the pandemic and turned a profit in 2020, but they would have lost money on day-to-day operations without federal aid from the CARES Act.
According to data released by the Oregon Health Authority this week, the state’s 64 hospitals ended 2020 with a combined $483 million surplus in operating revenue.
That includes money from providing patient care, cafeteria and gift sales and federal aid. Hospitals received about $620 million in CARES Act funds.
Two of Oregon’s hospitals are for-profit: McKenzie-Willamette Medical Center in Springfield and Willamette Valley Medical Center in McMinnville. The remainder are nonprofits.
Originally published on February 15, 2021 11:35 am
The Columbia River west of the Gorge as it heads toward Portland and out to the Pacific Ocean. CREDIT: Amelia Templeton/OPB
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Warmer winter weather, more rainfall and less snow will contribute to significantly increased flooding in the Columbia River Basin this century due to climate change, new research says.
New modeling shows an increase of flooding by up to 60% in the next 50 to 100 years, according to a study by Oregon State University’s Oregon Climate Change Research Institute. Less precipitation falling as snow during the winter will lead to earlier spring streamflows for many rivers in the basin, including the Columbia, Willamette and Snake rivers and hundreds of tributaries.
AILSA CHANG, HOST:
All right, so that is the news out of the White House this afternoon. But what is the view from the states? Well, as distribution moves beyond health care workers, there s very little in common from one place to the next. We re talking about residency requirements or prioritizing teachers over seniors. So we re going to spend the next several minutes talking through how things have been going around the country. And to do that, I m joined now by Amelia Templeton from Oregon Public Broadcasting, Blake Farmer of Nashville Public Radio and Veronica Zaragovia from WLRN in Miami.