August 27, 2013
What is this about a new hospital in Gold Beach?
Curry Health Network is looking to replace the Gold Beach, Curry General Hospital and improve the Port Orford Clinic by placing a tax of $10M on the November ballot. This $10M will allow for low interest matching loans to complete a new modern facility at the same site. Placement of the new hospital would allow continued healthcare at the existing facility during construction. Learn more about Ballot Measure 8-74 to replace Curry General Hospital and improve the Port Orford clinic.
What's changed in Gold Beach?
Over the last few years Curry General Hospital has improved our Emergency Care model. We currently have Board Certified physicians on our campus 24 hours a day for our Emergency room. This differs from the previous method of calling physicians from off campus to cover the emergency department. We feel our community gets the same high quality of care here as they would anywhere.
What's this about a Brookings Hospital?
Curry Health Network has agreed to complete a Certificate of Need to determine if Brookings can qualify for a new hospital. The Certificate of Need process takes about one year. If the Certificate of Need is approved by the Federal Government, Curry Health Network will ask the people of South Curry County how they will fund a Brookings hospital on the Curry Medical Center campus. We feel the Curry Medical Center (5th Street Clinic) already has much of the components of a hospital, so the project is half completed already.
Does Brookings really need a hospital?
On average, 2 to 4 ambulances a day are called to Curry Medical Center on 5th Street to transport a patient to an emergency room. In 2012, 79 people presented to the Curry Medical Center Urgent Care with chest pain. These citizens required transportation to the nearest ER - either Gold Beach or Crescent City - via ambulance. Numbers for 2013 are on track to eclipse last year's numbers. It is clear that emergency services are needed in Brookings. Current Oregon law requires a hospital status to support an emergency room. This means there must be inpatient beds.
When would we have these hospitals?
The Gold Beach hospital cannot be started until we receive money from the bond ballot measure. Without passing a bond measure, it would not be possible to access a low interest loan to fund the Gold Beach hospital project. We are ready as soon as we get that funding to start the 2 ½ to 4 year project of the new Curry General Hospital. The funding efforts for the Brookings hospital won't be explored until we know we have federal approval through the Certificate of Need process. This creates a longer timeline for any Brookings facility, if approved.
Can Curry County support two hospitals?
We believe two separate traditionally run hospitals would dilute the market, making it difficult to financially sustain either facility. However, a single entity running two campuses would be sustainable. One idea is to reduce the 22 bed hospital in Gold Beach to a 10-15 bed hospital. We believe reducing our bed capacity in Gold Beach would improve a case for a Brookings facility. Cost savings could be achieved through having one administration, one billing department, one IT department and so on. As a part of the Certificate of Need, a business model must be developed to demonstrate the need for such a venture.
What does Port Orford get out of any of this?
We feel the Southern Oregon coast would be attractive to many qualified physicians; however our Gold Beach facility is a barrier to recruitment. With a new hospital comes opportunity to recruit more specialty physicians. Port Orford would be put on a schedule for some of these specialists to rotate through the Curry Family Medical Clinic.
As we get an Orthopedic Surgeon and other specialists, the expectation would be that they rotate through Port Orford on a monthly basis. Learn more about other planned improvements.
What's happening with OB?
This spring Curry General Hospital made the difficult decision to temporarily suspend our OB service. One of the reasons was that our method of care at Curry was to use a small group of specialized nurses to provide care. When those nurse left through retirement or other reasons, they were difficult to replace. All of our nurses will now be going through a rural nurse certification course as well as OB nurses training, so when we bring our OB service back we will never have to close. In addition to the Nursing changes, after the beginning of 2014, we will welcome Dr. John Jackson who will play an integral part of the re-opening of the Labor and Delivery Service at Curry General Hospital. Dr. Jackson's specialties include Family Practice and Obstetrics.
How's the new hospitalist program going?
In early September hospitalists started seeing patients in Curry General Hospital. These physicians only practice medicine in the hospital, and our patients now have access to physicians 24-hours per day, seven days a week. While most hospitalists work 12-hour shifts, our hospitalists work seven to ten day shifts and live on our campus the entire time.
Because we're able to provide constant medical surveillance and care in the hospital, fewer people will leave our county for care.
Community physicians appreciate this program because it assures them that their clinic time will not be interrupted, which is also a value to their patients. It will also be a major recruiting tool as we seek new physicians to serve our community.
Do the Tax Payers in Gold Beach and Port Orford pay for Curry Medical Center in Brookings?
No. We received funding for the Curry Medical Center project by going to the public market through private investors. After all expenses were paid, the clinic added more than $700,000 to the District's bottom line last year. This has been of benefit to Curry General Hospital in Gold Beach.
What about a dialysis center?
We have felt there is a real need for a local Dialysis Center. We have been in contact with the two major national Dialysis companies, Fresenius and DaVita. Fresenius has indicated they are not currently interested in this area. We are yet awaiting DaVita. In addition we will be looking at hospital based models. We feel strongly that if this vital service is feasible, then it is in our charge to provide dialysis.
You've got questions, We've got answers!
By Andrew Bair, CEO, Curry Health NetworkWhat is this about a new hospital in Gold Beach?
Curry Health Network is looking to replace the Gold Beach, Curry General Hospital and improve the Port Orford Clinic by placing a tax of $10M on the November ballot. This $10M will allow for low interest matching loans to complete a new modern facility at the same site. Placement of the new hospital would allow continued healthcare at the existing facility during construction. Learn more about Ballot Measure 8-74 to replace Curry General Hospital and improve the Port Orford clinic.
What's changed in Gold Beach?
Over the last few years Curry General Hospital has improved our Emergency Care model. We currently have Board Certified physicians on our campus 24 hours a day for our Emergency room. This differs from the previous method of calling physicians from off campus to cover the emergency department. We feel our community gets the same high quality of care here as they would anywhere.
What's this about a Brookings Hospital?
Curry Health Network has agreed to complete a Certificate of Need to determine if Brookings can qualify for a new hospital. The Certificate of Need process takes about one year. If the Certificate of Need is approved by the Federal Government, Curry Health Network will ask the people of South Curry County how they will fund a Brookings hospital on the Curry Medical Center campus. We feel the Curry Medical Center (5th Street Clinic) already has much of the components of a hospital, so the project is half completed already.
Does Brookings really need a hospital?
On average, 2 to 4 ambulances a day are called to Curry Medical Center on 5th Street to transport a patient to an emergency room. In 2012, 79 people presented to the Curry Medical Center Urgent Care with chest pain. These citizens required transportation to the nearest ER - either Gold Beach or Crescent City - via ambulance. Numbers for 2013 are on track to eclipse last year's numbers. It is clear that emergency services are needed in Brookings. Current Oregon law requires a hospital status to support an emergency room. This means there must be inpatient beds.
When would we have these hospitals?
The Gold Beach hospital cannot be started until we receive money from the bond ballot measure. Without passing a bond measure, it would not be possible to access a low interest loan to fund the Gold Beach hospital project. We are ready as soon as we get that funding to start the 2 ½ to 4 year project of the new Curry General Hospital. The funding efforts for the Brookings hospital won't be explored until we know we have federal approval through the Certificate of Need process. This creates a longer timeline for any Brookings facility, if approved.
Can Curry County support two hospitals?
We believe two separate traditionally run hospitals would dilute the market, making it difficult to financially sustain either facility. However, a single entity running two campuses would be sustainable. One idea is to reduce the 22 bed hospital in Gold Beach to a 10-15 bed hospital. We believe reducing our bed capacity in Gold Beach would improve a case for a Brookings facility. Cost savings could be achieved through having one administration, one billing department, one IT department and so on. As a part of the Certificate of Need, a business model must be developed to demonstrate the need for such a venture.
What does Port Orford get out of any of this?
We feel the Southern Oregon coast would be attractive to many qualified physicians; however our Gold Beach facility is a barrier to recruitment. With a new hospital comes opportunity to recruit more specialty physicians. Port Orford would be put on a schedule for some of these specialists to rotate through the Curry Family Medical Clinic.
As we get an Orthopedic Surgeon and other specialists, the expectation would be that they rotate through Port Orford on a monthly basis. Learn more about other planned improvements.
What's happening with OB?
This spring Curry General Hospital made the difficult decision to temporarily suspend our OB service. One of the reasons was that our method of care at Curry was to use a small group of specialized nurses to provide care. When those nurse left through retirement or other reasons, they were difficult to replace. All of our nurses will now be going through a rural nurse certification course as well as OB nurses training, so when we bring our OB service back we will never have to close. In addition to the Nursing changes, after the beginning of 2014, we will welcome Dr. John Jackson who will play an integral part of the re-opening of the Labor and Delivery Service at Curry General Hospital. Dr. Jackson's specialties include Family Practice and Obstetrics.
How's the new hospitalist program going?
In early September hospitalists started seeing patients in Curry General Hospital. These physicians only practice medicine in the hospital, and our patients now have access to physicians 24-hours per day, seven days a week. While most hospitalists work 12-hour shifts, our hospitalists work seven to ten day shifts and live on our campus the entire time.
Because we're able to provide constant medical surveillance and care in the hospital, fewer people will leave our county for care.
Community physicians appreciate this program because it assures them that their clinic time will not be interrupted, which is also a value to their patients. It will also be a major recruiting tool as we seek new physicians to serve our community.
Do the Tax Payers in Gold Beach and Port Orford pay for Curry Medical Center in Brookings?
No. We received funding for the Curry Medical Center project by going to the public market through private investors. After all expenses were paid, the clinic added more than $700,000 to the District's bottom line last year. This has been of benefit to Curry General Hospital in Gold Beach.
What about a dialysis center?
We have felt there is a real need for a local Dialysis Center. We have been in contact with the two major national Dialysis companies, Fresenius and DaVita. Fresenius has indicated they are not currently interested in this area. We are yet awaiting DaVita. In addition we will be looking at hospital based models. We feel strongly that if this vital service is feasible, then it is in our charge to provide dialysis.