SNOW DAY IN THE GORGE - PROVIDENCE HOOD RIVER’S
“COLD AIR – WARM HEART” REAL LIFE STORIES

Providence Hood River Chief Executive Ty Erickson shovels snow in front of a Providence employee’s home so she can get out of her driveway and get to work Tue., Dec. 23.

Providence Hood River’s Chief Executive Officer Ty Erickson delivers an $8,000 FISH Food Bank donation check on Dec. 23 to Providence employee Marianne Durkan, President of FISH Food Committee in Hood River.

December 23, 2008

HOOD RIVER, Ore. - Bad weather and tough times brings out the best in people – especially people in the rural and remote communities along the Columbia River Gorge, which have been hard-hit by the winter storm. The holiday spirit is alive and well in the small action sports town of Hood River, Oregon.

At Providence Hood River Memorial Hospital and its Providence Hood River Health Clinics, Providence Down Manor senior living facility, Brookside Manor assisted living facility, Dethman Manor subsidized living facility and Providence Mountain Clinic, people are committed to caring for those in need, regardless of the weather.

From year-end support for FISH Food Bank, to employees and volunteers serving patients, travelers and residents, despite dire driving conditions, deep snow, road closures and sub-freezing temperatures, the Gorge not-for-profit health care teams collaborate with government and non profit agencies to provide warm-hearted service to sub-freezing Gorge communities.

One Providence Hood River team is happy to see weather that has been called the worst in 40 years: Providence Mountain Clinic at Mount Hood Meadows. They recently opened their newly expanded health clinic and remain open when lifts are operating at Mount Hood Meadows Ski Resort. According to these hardy Providence employees, the weather conditions are great, the roads are plowed and there’s no better time to ski or snowboard.

Below are short stories of how Providence volunteers, staff and Gorge area residents helped each other out in the days before Christmas:

Providence Hood River supports FISH Food Bank for the holidays
Providence Hood River Memorial Hospital and its parent organization, Providence Health & Services, delivered a check for $8,000 today to the FISH Food Bank in Hood River to ensure the charity has additional resources for the winter season. FISH Food Bank has seen increased need in times of financial challenges for residents throughout the county. The Providence gift helps support food services for those in need in Hood River county and Cascade Locks.

Marianne Durkan, Providence Hood River Home Health Manager, also serves as President of the Hood River FISH Food Committee, which coordinates FISH Food Bank activities, with special winter needs for local residents in mind.

Providence Hood River staff members knew the community was in dire need of food given the downturn in the economy so they planned a food drive for FISH Food Bank this December. Employees donated more than 700 pounds of food in less than two weeks.

A dozen Providence Hood River employees volunteered last Saturday to help FISH Food Bank unload donated food. More than 30 employees signed up but weren’t needed.

Approximately 35 Providence Hood River employees donated Providence Christmas gift certificates for food to FISH Food Bank this December.

Hood River Dialysis patient taken to Portland by local Sheriff
On Monday December 22, a Providence Hood River Memorial Hospital patient needed to get to a hospital in Portland to begin a dialysis treatment that could not be provided locally. The patient needed the treatment since last Friday. Ambulances were unable to make the treacherous drive through the Gorge with roads closed.

Providence Chief Executive Ty Erickson served as a patient advocate, pushing to ensure the patient received urgent transport and care yesterday. Erickson stood by, ready to drive the patient to Portland if needed. Hood River Sheriff Jerry Brown drove the patient to Portland. The patient arrived safely and is now receiving life-saving care.

Providence staff to the rescue!
Ron Guth, Providence Hood River's chief financial officer, picked Brookside Manor caregiver Myra Judd up from her remote Pine Grove residence because she couldn’t get out of her driveway this weekend. Judd came in to work at Brookside Manor and spent the night there to ensure she was able to work both days. She feared she might not be able to get back to Hood River from home, saying, “I have to care for my residents.” Brookside Manor offers assisted living care for the disabled, seniors and those with dementia.

Providence Hood River Memorial Hospital courier David White made a ten-hour drive around Mount Hood Tuesday night to get to Portland to pick up essential medical supplies and to deliver lab tissues for patients, before returning to the Hood River hospital. He was scheduled for the 8 p.m. to 4:30 p.m. shift, but after working a normal day, drove to Portland and returned at 1 a.m. the following morning. White drove on highway 35 from Hood River, leaving at 3:30 p.m., arrived at Providence Portland Medical Center at 8pm, drove back over Mount Hood, returning at 1am. His wife, Laurie, a house supervisor at Providence Hood River Memorial Hospital, asked him to put snow chains on her car before he went to bed to ensure she could get in to work today from snow-laden Odell.

Hospital employee Tracey Garcia, a Mosier resident, came in to work Saturday and Sunday to cook for hospital patients and also for employees working long shifts. She spent both nights at the hospital because her relief cook, Lester Norman of Lyle, might not have been able to arrive to work. Norman did make it across the river to Hood River but his truck stopped working at the bottom of State Street. A Hood River City snowplow driver plowed him a parking place in the Hood River News parking lot and dropped Lester off at work on Sunday.

Cindy Durham of Providence Home Health, was busy checking on all 50 Gorge patients that were home bound this last week and checked in on other community shut-ins. The team made sure everyone had food and supplies for the holidays.

The Providence Hood River Memorial Hospital’s Emergency Room was busy when local health clinics closed early. Patients needing medical attention after hours may come to the ER which is open 7 days a week, 24 hours a day. The ER staff warns residents that they are seeing an increase in injuries from people falling off roofs while shoveling snow, car accident victims and injuries resulting from slips and falls on the ice. They recommend staying warm and hydrated; wearing personal and car traction devices, stocking up on food, water and emergency supplies and to have a plan in case of power loss.

Providence Faith in Action volunteer caregivers, supporting a program managed by Providence Hood River Chaplain Jill Rowland, checked on local care receivers to make sure they had supplies and food and to ensure they were OK despite the weather.

The Providence Mobile Health Unit was not able to go out on the road as scheduled but the staff instead called around the community to ensure that medically fragile patients had needs met and helped trouble shoot new community issues as they arose.

Ethel Reeves (2007 Providence Hood River employee of the year) and her husband Bob picked up stranded Providence employees who could not get out of their driveways to get into work to take care of patients and keep the hospital running.

Numerous employees shoveled, used the snow blower and cleared the hospital premises and employees driveways, making it safe for patients, visitor and employees to access the hospital, clinics and senior living facilities.