OAHHS Hospital Voice Fall/Winter 2019

8 » A magazine for and about Oregon Community Hospitals. BEYOND THE FOUR WALLS Rural Hospitals’ Innovative Programs Take Care Into the Community Meeting Patients Where They Are Hers is a familiar face at the Pendleton Senior Center. A local woman in her 70s came in on a fall day to visit with her friends, as she always does. But she was also there to meet with a team of caregivers from the Community Health Outreach Program from St. Anthony Hospital, who came over in their specially equipped RV. “She got her vitals checked, and we also filled out a full health assessment. We took her oxygen statistics, her blood pressure, checked to see if she is diabetic,” said Amanda Waterland, a community health worker at the hospital. “And then we went to the other part of the assessment, where we look at social factors, like do you have enough food in the home.” But on this day, there were medical needs that needed attention. “Our respiratory therapist saw how out of breath she was,” said Waterland. “So, we arranged for her to come to the hospital for pulmonary rehabilitation treatment.” This patient’s example shows why Waterland believes the Community Health Outreach program is so promising. It’s just getting started but shows how hospitals need to take care outside of the four walls and meet patients where they are. “A lot of individuals don’t have transportation,” said Waterland. “But there also might be some fear of going to the provider. When we go to places like senior centers, they’re in their comfort zone, they are with their friends, it’s de-stigmatized.” Patients are educated on ways to prevent problems in areas such as dental health, congestive heart failure, and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD). The care team includes a wound care nurse in addition to the respiratory therapist. The visits to community gathering places such as senior centers succeed in linking patients to resources and care. Workers have learned about how great the need is for these types of efforts, which address the social determinants of health. “We’ve heard from the Milton-Freewater Senior Center,” said Waterland. “They told us, ‘we need you.’” St. Anthony funds the Community Health Outreach program as part of its commitment to community benefit, and there are other vital programs under the hospital’s CB umbrella. Working to Build Healthy Children and Families Pioneer Relief Nursery is part of a statewide network of 31 child abuse prevention agencies. The eight staff members identify and address risk factors that can inhibit child development and family strength, said program manager Libby Hoffman. “We have home visits at least once a month, sometimes once a week,” said Hoffman. She said 100% of the families are living below the Federal Poverty Line. There is a clothing closet, and the nursery organizes diaper drives in Pendleton to help parents make ends meet. The families may be struggling with addiction or mental health issues, lack of transportation, and other risk factors that are part of the social determinants of health. “We emphasize the protective factors,” said Hoffman. “We try to build parent resilience and give them knowledge of child development.” Parenting classes focus on how to work with children who have experienced trauma.

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