St. Charles Health System

Be prepared to beat the heat with these tips from our caregivers at the St. Charles Center for Women's Health. These tips are useful for everyone but are especially important for pregnant patients, who can be more sensitive to heat-related illnesses.

St. Charles Health System announced today recipients of a variety of Community Benefit grants, awarding more than $106,000 to 16 local organizations in Central Oregon. The grants were awarded to provide basic needs, to support local diversity, equity and inclusion initiatives, to sponsor local events and as part of St. Charles’ Priority Grant to increase a sense of belonging and reduce loneliness and isolation. Local nonprofit Friends of the Children Central Oregon will utilize the priority grant funding from St. Charles to start a brand-new cooking class series designed to teach youth and families essential culinary skills and health eating habits while strengthening community connections. “We are incredibly grateful to St. Charles Health System for their generous grant funding. With this support, we can offer hands-on cooking lessons, guided by professional chefs, that not only teach practical skills but also inspire confidence and independence in our participants. Together, we are building a brighter future for Central Oregon's youth, one meal at a time,” said Chloe Manke, development director for Friends of the Children Central Oregon. Learn more about this round of grant recipients at our website: https://bit.ly/3WtPhl1

The Center Orthopedic and Neurosurgical Care & Research has announced its intent to expand its relationship with St. Charles Health System. With Central Oregon experiencing a rapid reduction in access to care across many different types of medicine, The Center and St. Charles Health System have signed a letter of intent to explore expanding their relationship to preserve and strengthen access to orthopedic, neurosurgical, physical medicine and rehabilitation medicine in the Central Oregon region. “St. Charles and The Center are both local organizations that are committed to providing the best possible care for Central Oregonians,” said Dr. Steve Gordon, president and CEO of St. Charles. “St. Charles has the ability to step in and help shore up these services for our patients and community, which is not only the right thing to do it’s critical to ensuring continued access to a wide variety of services throughout the region.” Learn more at our website: https://bit.ly/3Wqvqmv

Getting to know patients is what Denise loves about her job as a certified medical assistant at St. Charles, where she has worked for 23 years!

#dogsofstcharles It takes a special kind of personality to be a therapy dog, but Mr. Red seems to have been born to it. There is nothing Mr. Red, a Newfoundland, loves more than visiting St. Charles and getting attention and pats from patients, families and caregivers. According to his owner Michael, Mr. Red is gregariously happy and a social butterfly, treating everyone he meets like a new best friend-excellent traits for any therapy dog! Mr. Red holds a Complex therapy rating, which means that he is stable in stressful environments and specializes in volunteering in places like the emergency department, pediatrics, and Sage View Psychiatric Center, as well as with at-risk teens. He follows in the footsteps of Clyde, Michael’s first Newfoundland dog, who also earned a complex rating and has been volunteering at St. Charles since 2017. Mr. Red began working at St. Charles in 2023, with both dogs visiting St. Charles several days a week on alternating weeks. On his days off Mr. Red loves car trips into town and road trips to California, where he and Clyde also volunteer at the Children’s Hospital Los Angeles.

St. Charles Health System recently recognized several nurses for their extraordinary service and abilities. Four nurses received the DAISY Awards for Extraordinary Nurses, a national award that recognizes the outstanding, compassionate nursing care they provide patients and families every day. The nurses earning DAISY awards are: Krista Munns, a Medical Services nurse in Redmond, was recognized by a family for her care and compassion, sharing that “she was hugely supportive during a very difficult time.” Katie Pink, an Emergency Department nurse in Bend, was recognized for her “fervent application of clinical knowledge honed with her compassion and patience.” Janna Raber-Stevens, a Medical Services nurse in Prineville, was honored by a patient specifically for her ability to find a creative way to help them get some sleep, saying her efforts “made a huge difference in my outlook and attitude.” Riley Schafer, a Wound Ostomy nurse in Madras, was recognized by a patient for her tremendous care helping with a slow-healing wound, saying “Nurse Riley stood above the rest with her care, attitude and compassion.” Congratulations to all four nurses on this well-deserved honor!

St. Charles Health System recently recognized several nurses for their extraordinary service and abilities. This year, three nurse leaders received DAISY Awards for Extraordinary Nurses, a national award that recognizes the outstanding, compassionate nursing care they provide patients and families every day. St. Charles' inaugural winners of The DAISY Award for Extraordinary Nurse Leaders are: Ryan Huebscher, assistant nurse manager, Emergency Department, Bend, was honored for his “empathy, gentleness and strength.” Kelli Jo Hammack, nurse manager, Inpatient Services, Madras, was recognized for caring, approachable style and her tremendous clinical knowledge. Bethany Klier, nurse manager, Wound Ostomy, Madras, was recognized for being intelligent, strong, loving and fearless. Congratulations to these nurse leaders for the well-deserved honor!

#humansofstcharles If you’re worried that a questionable mole might be skin cancer, there’s an app for that — thanks to Emma Nordstrom, a St. Charles volunteer and graduate of Bend’s Trinity Lutheran School. Earlier this year, Nordstrom, 18, was one of 200 high school students in the country to be recognized as a National STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Math) Champion for her invention: A program that allows a person to scan a concerning lesion and will flag it if it shares characteristics with different types of skin cancer. Learn more about the story behind Emma's app at our website: https://bit.ly/4cqbbuW

Have a safe and happy 4th of July holiday!

URGENT CARE HOLIDAY HOURS: St. Charles Bend South, La Pine and Prineville urgent care clinics will be open from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. on Thursday, July 4th in observance of the Independence Day holiday.