PeaceHealth’s rehab moves to RiverBend
SPRINGFIELD – PeaceHealth officials announced that its inpatient rehabilitation unit at University District in Eugene will relocate to PeaceHealth Sacred Heart Medical Center at RiverBend in Springfield on Dec. 15.
PeaceHealth said in a statement it is taking this step after announcing in August the start of a process to close the “underutilized University District hospital.”
Following the unit’s relocation to RiverBend, the hospital tower at University District will close. All PeaceHealth Medical Group clinics on the west side of Hilyard Street and the outpatient rehabilitation clinic, plus the inpatient behavioral health unit on the corner of Alder Street and East 11th Avenue, will remain open.
Oregon Rehabilitation Center, PeaceHealth’s inpatient rehabilitation unit, serves adults recovering from such conditions as stroke, neurological disease, or brain or spinal cord injuries. The center will operate temporarily at RiverBend until the state-of-the-art, 50-bed rehabilitation hospital PeaceHealth is developing with Lifepoint opens in 2026.
FLU VAX RATES LOW: Influenza vaccination rates among Oregon’s health care personnel have not recovered from significant declines suffered during the Covid pandemic, new Oregon Health Authority (OHA) data show.
According to OHA’s Healthcare-Associated Infections (HAI) Program, 64% of the state’s eligible health care workers from all facility types were vaccinated against the flu during the 2022-23 flu season. This is similar to the 2021-22 flu season rate of 63% – a concern for state officials trying to prevent the virus’ spread to people most at risk of severe illness and death. The influenza vaccination rate among eligible health-care workers had dropped by 25% between the 2019-20 and 2022-23 influenza seasons.
LANE HEALTH CARE: The Community Health Center of Lane County, a division of Lane County Health & Human Services, recently received national recognition in four areas from The Health Resources & Services Administration. These recognitions include Access Enhancer, Advancing Health Information Technology, Patient-Centered Medical Home, and Health Disparities Reducer. “These recognitions show the dedication of the Community Health Centers and H&HS to expanding our capabilities to provide quality, and equitable access to healthcare to those in our community who are most in need,” CHCLC Chief Operations Officer, Suzanne Roelof said. In 2022, the CHCLC served nearly 26,000 patients, a 12% percent increase from 2021.
