St. Charles Foundation’s annual Saints Gala co-sponsored by Genentech and CORA was a resounding success, raising nearly half a million dollars to enable St. Charles to continue providing world-class health care services. This year’s special appeal focused on the Three Sisters Rural Track Program (RTP), the first graduate level residency program in Central Oregon which will provide training for rural family medicine doctors.
“Watching our community come together from across Central Oregon to support this new program was inspiring and heartwarming,” said Jenny O’Bryan, executive director of the Foundation.
The theme for this year’s event was Puttin’ on the Ritz, with décor and music from the 1920s. The event includes a silent and live auction along with dinner. The Foundation received two significant matching gifts: an anonymous donor gave $50,000 in honor of the Sunriver Wood Chuckers volunteer program and the Bean Foundation from Madras gave $25,000.
Learn more about the RTP program and how it will impact Central Oregonians: Video, Website
About St. Charles Foundation
The mission of St. Charles Foundation is to support St. Charles Health System in the delivery and advancement of world-class health care in Central Oregon and in achieving its strategic goals. St. Charles Foundation works with the community to develop and steward philanthropic resources to fund programs and capital projects that improve health, prevent disease, enhance quality of life and provide the highest quality care possible for all St. Charles patients now and in the future. Learn more about the efforts of St. Charles Foundation: https://foundation.stcharleshealthcare.org/.
February is American Heart Month, and a great time for everyone to review basic tips to keep their heart healthy.
St. Charles' team of Heart Failure Nurse Navigators are leading several free classes throughout Central Oregon to share tips during the month of February. The events are all free and open to the community. Attendees at the Heart Health 101 classes will learn how to improve heart health while developing skills to prevent or manage cardiovascular conditions. The class will include information about how the heart works, how to recognize signs of a heart attack, nutrition tips and more.
Classes take place at the following times and locations:
Feb. 15, Bend Larkspur Community Center noon to 1:30 p.m.
Feb. 15, Sisters Parks and Recreation, noon to 1 p.m.
Feb. 27, La Pine Senior Center 10 a.m. to noon
April 30, La Pine Senior Center 10 a.m. to noon
Grand Rounds - February 9, 2024
"GE Update: GERD, Hiatal Hernia, Gastric / Esophageal Cancer"
Speaker: Anisa Shaker, MD. Assistant Professor of Medicine, Division of Gastrointestinal and Liver Diseases, Keck School of Medicine of USC.
Objectives
- Follow current, evidence‐based guidelines for common gastroesophageal (GE) issues.
- Choose the most effective treatment options for hiatal hernia and GERD to aid in the prevention of gastric/esophageal cancer.
- Distinguish dyspepsia from GERD.
- Recognize that helicobacter infection reduces acid production and reflux symptomology.
- Recognize the side effects of PPI use and choose as a treatment option, when appropriate.
- Address the cultural factors that may increase the risk of, or impact treatment options for, the patient with GI issues.
Accreditation: St. Charles Health System is accredited by the Accreditation Council for Continuing Medical Education to provide continuing medical education for physicians. St. Charles Health System designates this live activity for a maximum of 1.0 AMA PRA Category 1 Credit(s)TM.
The period to claim credit for this activity expires one year after its original publication. Physicians should claim only the credit commensurate with the extent of their participation in the activity.
Target Audience: Physicians, Nurses, Pharmacists, Allied Health Professionals
Accessibility/Program Questions: St. Charles Health System encourages persons with disabilities to participate in its programs and activities. If you anticipate needing any type of accommodation or have questions about the physical access provided, please contact Continuing Medical Education at cme@stcharleshealthcare.org.
Oher CME or Clerkship questions: also contact Continuing Medical Education at cme@stcharleshealthcare.org.
After several difficult years of COVID-19 pandemic response, staffing shortages and financial challenges, St. Charles Health System’s operating performance turnaround has been recognized positively by two large, influential credit-rating agencies.
S&P Global Ratings revised the organization’s outlook to stable from negative and affirmed its ‘A’ long-term rating assigned to bonds the health system issued in 2016 and 2020 under the Deschutes County Hospital Facilities Authority.
“The outlook revision from negative reflects our view of St. Charles’ meaningful rebound in operating performance and solid days’ cash on hand that have allowed it to withstand operating pressure and recent industry headwinds,” according to S&P Global Ratings.
Moody’s Investors Service revised St. Charles’ outlook to stable from negative and affirmed its ‘A2’ revenue bond rating to reflect the health system’s successful execution of financial turnaround plans.
“(St. Charles’) favorable credit profile is supported by (its) strong market position as the dominant system in central Oregon, its comprehensive array of strong clinical offerings, and its favorable location in a quickly growing, desirable region, which will continue to fuel strong revenue growth,” according to Moody’s.
As a nonprofit health care organization, St. Charles issues bonds to reinvest in its facilities and infrastructure to continue providing high quality, critical care to Central Oregon communities. The affirmed rating and improved outlook strengthen the health system’s capacity to borrow additional capital dollars in the future.
"We have been working incredibly hard for the past 18 months to stabilize the health system and it is nice that others recognize our improvement,” said St. Charles President and CEO Dr. Steve Gordon. “We have stabilized our workforce, stabilized our finances and are now able to lay the groundwork to better meet our region’s growing needs for essential services now and in the future.”
About St. Charles Health System
St. Charles Health System, Inc., headquartered in Bend, Ore., owns and operates St. Charles Bend, Madras, Prineville and Redmond. It also owns family care clinics in Bend, Madras, Prineville, Redmond, La Pine and Sisters. St. Charles is a private, nonprofit Oregon corporation and is the largest employer in Central Oregon with more than 4,500 caregivers. In addition, there are more than 350 active medical staff members and nearly 200 visiting medical staff members who partner with the health system to provide a wide range of care and service to our communities.
Live (In-Person) CME Activities
St. Charles Health System utilizes the Electronic Education Database System (eeds) to track attendance at live CME activities, including Grand Rounds, clinical conferences, procedural skills workshops and others.
You can also use eeds to self-report and track CME earned from more than one source.
Sign-In or Create an Account on eeds.
Resources for Planning CME Activities
Grand Rounds
Grand Rounds presentations are scheduled on Fridays from 7:00 to 8:00 am. Check the CME Event Calendar to see the scheduled sessions, and join any of them by using the Teams Meeting link.
Maintenance of Certification (MoC)
Grand Rounds - February 2, 2024
"Hypertension Update 2024"
Speaker: Florian Rader, MD, MSc. Co-Director, Clinic for Hypertrophic Cardiomyopathy and Aortopathies; Associate Director, Non-invasive Laboratory; Hypertension Center, Cedars-Sinai Smidt Heart Institute.
Objectives
- Identify and avoid common errors in the measurement of blood pressure.
- List the latest guidelines for blood pressure management.
- Evaluate how these guidelines direct care of individual patients.
Accreditation: St. Charles Health System is accredited by the Accreditation Council for Continuing Medical Education to provide continuing medical education for physicians. St. Charles Health System designates this live activity for a maximum of 1.0 AMA PRA Category 1 Credit(s)TM.
The period to claim credit for this activity expires one year after its original publication. Physicians should claim only the credit commensurate with the extent of their participation in the activity.
Target Audience: Physicians, Nurses, Pharmacists, Allied Health Professionals
Accessibility/Program Questions: St. Charles Health System encourages persons with disabilities to participate in its programs and activities. If you anticipate needing any type of accommodation or have questions about the physical access provided, please contact Continuing Medical Education at cme@stcharleshealthcare.org.
Oher CME or Clerkship questions: also contact Continuing Medical Education at cme@stcharleshealthcare.org.
St. Charles’ Board of Directors has a new chairperson: Ann Rhoads, a 10-year resident of Bend.
Rhoads joined the Board in 2021 and spent the past year as Vice Chair, shadowing outgoing chairperson Jamie Orlikoff to better understand the role and its responsibilities. (Orlikoff will remain on the Board.)
Previously, Rhoads served on two St. Charles committees, one focused on investment and another on audit and compliance. She was a natural fit for those after her 33-year career as an audit professional with PricewaterhouseCoopers, she said.
“My background is in finance and accounting,” Rhoads said. “Serving on this Board appealed to me because of my interest in health care in and of itself, and how it’s being delivered.”
A former member of the local Volunteers in Medicine Board and a current member of the Tower Theatre Foundation Board, Rhoads also joined the St. Charles Board because of her commitment to giving back to the community she has called home for a decade.
“I have a very strong affinity for the fact that we have an excellent health system in Central Oregon that serves the community and is interested in making the community healthier,” she said. “When you live here and you see that every day, you want to be a part of it and help make sure it’s going to be around for a long time.”
After focusing on workforce and financial rebuilding in 2023, St. Charles is well-positioned, Rhoads said, to pursue initiatives within the Board’s three priority areas for 2024:
Sustainability: “We got our financial house in order last year,” she said. “Going forward, we can now really reinvest in the organization. We can make sure we’re providing the right services and the right number of beds for the communities we serve. And we’re prepared to do some fairly big things, like the Redmond Cancer Center. That’s an exciting place to be.”
People and culture: “At one point, we had more people leaving the organization than staying with us. But we’ve stabilized that. We’re on a positive upswing and we’re building the nursing staff back to where it needs to be,” Rhoads said. “We want people to be proud to work at St. Charles and to be happy in their jobs. We want to be a place with an irresistible culture, where people feel respected and valued for not just their skills but simply who they are.”
Safety and quality: “Obviously, safety is Job One for a hospital. We closely monitor the safety and quality of the care we provide and we’re working hard to develop new ways to improve,” she said. “We’re well on our way to where we need to be, but of course this is the kind of thing that needs constant attention, and it’s intertwined with having the right people in place and giving them the tools they need to do their jobs.”
Overall, Rhoads is looking forward to serving as Board Chair because she believes St. Charles’ future is as bright as ever.
“There have been bumps in the road, obviously,” she said, “but I feel like we’re on the right track.”
Lloyd Fobi, MBA, MEng
Senior Vice President, Chief Information Digital Officer
Lloyd Fobi serves as the senior strategic information technology leader of St. Charles Health System. He holds a Master of Business Administration in entrepreneurial finance from Willamette University along with a master’s degree and a bachelor’s degree in engineering from Oregon State University.
Lloyd was formerly a member of the senior IT leadership team at MultiCare Health System based in Tacoma, Wash.
Tom Foster, MBA
Vice President, Strategic Initiatives and Transformation
Tom Foster works with the leadership team of St. Charles and our community partners to define and deploy strategic initiatives needed to grow, improve and transform the way health care services are provided to our patients and within our communities. He grew up in Bend, Oregon where his dad previously worked at St. Charles as a radiologist.
Tom has a Bachelor of Arts from Whitman College and a master’s in business administration from the Melbourne Business School in Australia. Prior to joining St. Charles, Tom worked as a consultant for Point B and Ernst & Young.