Join us for FREE community education classes hosted by the St. Charles Heart Failure Nurse Navigators! Learn how your heart works, explore common risk factors for heart disease and discover simple, practical ways to support a healthier heart and overall well-being.
Classes are interactive, with time to share experiences, ask questions and connect with others!
Registration is required - click here to sign up: https://bit.ly/4dploJL
We’re celebrating Health Care Week at St. Charles!
Our caregivers got a special visit from some adorable puppies for a little well-deserved puppy love. A big thank you to Street Dog Hero and Humane Society of the Ochocos for bringing these sweet pups by to visit our staff at each of our hospitals. Even better, they’re available for adoption, so some of our caregivers even find their new best friend to bring home!
The St. Charles Health System Board of Directors is pleased to announce that Michael Hartke will serve as the next President and CEO of the organization as Dr. Steve Gordon plans to retire later this year. Hartke currently serves as Executive Vice President and Chief Operating Officer for the health system and is looking forward to taking on the new role.
“I’ve really enjoyed getting to know St. Charles – our caregivers, physicians, providers and the leadership team – as well as the Central Oregon region over the past year. I am honored the Board is confident in my leadership abilities to step into Steve’s shoes, which will be very hard to fill,” Hartke said. “I feel exceptionally grateful to have benefited from Steve’s leadership and friendship throughout my time here at St. Charles. There is no doubt that the health care industry faces significant challenges, but I’m confident we will continue working together as an organization and a community to meet them head on.”
Read the full story online: https://bit.ly/4wp4y6t
St. Charles Health System’s Trauma Program will honor and recognize former trauma patients Wednesday, May 20 at St. Charles Bend. This year’s event will include a special presentation from local teenager, Paige Wood, who will speak about her recovery after a traumatic car crash last summer after she fell asleep while driving.
The event will also include a visit from therapy dogs, a resource fair, free lunch and the chance to connect with St. Charles caregivers, first responders and fellow medical trauma survivors.
RSVP for Trauma Survivors Day here: https://bit.ly/4ebItBP
Read this story on our website: https://bit.ly/4umMmsq
Like a lot of people — a lot of men, especially — Mike Caccavano put off his first routine colonoscopy for years.
He even joked about it, he said in a recent interview: “My primary care nurse practitioner said, ‘You know, you should think about getting a colonoscopy.’ And I said, ‘Is that good enough? Can I just think about it?’”
When Caccovano eventually got the procedure, they found a polyp which was cancerous. That was nine years ago - Caccovano is now cancer free and appreciates the care he received and people he met along the way.
“I left there with a new understanding that these wonderful people exist and they’re there to do whatever they can to take care of you and make it as easy as possible — not just for you, but for all the other patients, too,” he said. “I always try to look for the good in experiences (but) I didn’t have to look very hard on this one. The chemo was not fun, of course. But the people — they were wonderful.”
Read more about Caccovano's story: https://bit.ly/42hRkuD
Happy National Nurses Day to all of our incredible and dedicated nurses at St. Charles and to nurses everywhere. Thank you for all that you do for your patients!
In his latest message to the community, St. Charles President and CEO Dr. Steve Gordon highlights National Trauma Survivors Day, an event hosted by the St. Charles trauma program May 20 to honor and recognize former trauma patients. The day gives survivors an opportunity to reconnect with the caregivers who supported them through some of their most challenging moments.
He also discusses the fast-approaching “trauma season,” when summers in Central Oregon bring a surge of patients to our emergency departments, and outlines St. Charles’ plans to strengthen critical care services and expand the Bend emergency department.
Read the full message on our website: https://bit.ly/42QMkgy
Physicians at St. Charles are now using advanced technology known as navigational bronchoscopy to access lung nodules. As a result, they're taking biopsies earlier — and getting larger samples — which allows them to more precisely target treatments and provide patients with the best possible care.
It’s Lab Week! That means it's time to honor and celebrate our incredible caregivers who work in our labs and time for our 14th annual Lab Olympics! Several teams - including special guests Stacy Youngs, VP for Operations in Bend, and Michael Hartke, Chief Operating Officer - faced off to see who could finish a relay of tasks the quickest, including pipetting into test tubes and stacking specimen containers.
The coveted first-place trophy (built from unusable lab supplies) went to Rachel Crowley and Dan Johns from Microbiology.
A big thank you to our incredible lab caregivers, your work is essential and we’re so grateful for all you do!
From the very beginning, hope has been part of the foundation for the new Cancer Center in Redmond and this is reflected in a meaningful display at the facility.
The rocks in this display contain messages of hope and good wishes from patients, family members, caregivers and community members who took part in the groundbreaking ceremony. Visitors are also invited to add their own message of hope in the book provided.
May these positive intentions and kind words bring comfort to patients and families for years to come.
Learn more about the Cancer Center in Redmond here: https://bit.ly/4tLPYUk
Meet Lindsey. One year ago today, she noticed a lump in her breast and immediately called her doctor, who ordered a mammogram with ultrasound. A week later, she got a call no one wants to get: She had cancer.
“It felt like the entire world was falling down on me,” she said.
Lindsey — a 38-year-old mother of two who lives in Madras — was diagnosed on May 6 and started her treatment June 6. The 30 days in between, she said, are a blur of uncertainty and fear. One thing she does remember is talking with her husband before her first appointment with her oncologist, Dr. Natasha Tiffany of the St. Charles Cancer Institute.
“I remember telling (him), ‘I don’t think I can do this. I think I’m too small. I’m too weak. I’m not strong enough to do this.’ And he’s telling me, ‘Yeah, you can,’” Lindsey said. “But (Dr. Tiffany) walks in and I’m crying, and she says, ‘How’s it going?’ And I said, ‘It’s not going.’”
Tiffany reassured Lindsey that she was in good hands, and that her care team would do everything they could to make her better.
Read Lindsey's full story here: https://bit.ly/4cFgfwX
Did you know the labs at St. Charles run over a quarter million Complete Blood Counts (CBCs) each year? Many of these tests require a medical lab scientist to examine samples under a microscope to help detect various illnesses.
Our med lab scientists play a critical role in patient care, providing a detailed analysis of what's going on in the blood so patients can get the most appropriate care possible.
