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 Each month, Oregon Health Forum will post highlights from its latest 16-page issue to give you a taste of what's available. We encourage you to subscribe now to get the full month's serving of news, insight and statistics on health care in Oregon. January 2008 Legislators to reconsider medical homes Legislators will reconsider funding medical home pilots in February’s supplemental session. But a common definition of medical home delivery remains elusive. Scanning current legislative concepts or Oregon Health Fund Board committee agendas, one cannot help but encounter the term "medical home" – or "primary care home" or "integrated health home" or some such combination of words."Once you get outside the group of people that are directly involved with primary care, people literally think it’s a physical place," said Cindy Becker, executive director of Coalition for a Healthy Oregon, citing an example of someone asking her where they could find the medical home so often spoken about. Return to topVeterans care falls short for many At least 1,200 Oregonians who have served in Iraq and Afghanistan are coming home with post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and other potentially devastating psychiatric disorders. Although the Department of Veterans’ Affairs (VA) offices do what they can to ensure veterans receive timely and effective treatment, many vets seeking mental health care face difficult hurdles. In spite of its aggressive efforts to encourage veterans to seek out care, the Portland VA is finding it cannot reach everyone, especially those who don’t want to be reached. Many vets who have completed an unprecedented three or four tours of duty turn violent and self destructive. Return to topCourt decision forces OHSU cuts The state’s major teaching hospital says it is being forced to make painful cuts in medical school programs and community services because of a state Supreme Court decision that stripped the university of legal protection from a potentially huge malpractice judgment. Oregon Health & Science University officials went public Jan. 18 with a list of budget cuts they said would begin "soon," including eliminating 200 to 300 jobs, slashing five spots from the fall medical school admissions roster, raising tuition 10 percent to 25 percent and curtailing or eliminating public services such as a dental clinic and rural health clinic. At the same time, OHSU has urged the state legislature to raise the cap on state agency liability to whatever level would resolve the appellate courts’ worries that the current cap is inadequate in certain cases. Return to topOn the Record with Holly Mercer The Oregon State Board of Nursing has been under unusual scrutiny for the past two years. A scathing media investigation by the Portland Tribune drew attention to questionable practices by nurses in the confidential Nurse Monitoring Program. This led to the governor’s office directing a two-month investigation by the Department of Administrative Services. The resulting report recommended changes to board procedures and staff management policies. After a few quiet months and a national search, the Board of Nursing announced its new executive director in December. Oregon Health News spoke with Holly Mercer, JD, RN, who officially reported to work Jan. 2. She was previously the assistant manager of the medical section of the Oregon Department of Consumer and Business Services’ Workers’ Compensation Division. OHN: Congratulations on your appointment. So, this is day nine on the new job. Can you give me a sense of what you’ve been doing so far? HM: First of all, I wanted to get to know our staff. I spent a few days doing that. And then I started making connections with a few of the key legislators and, of course, the board members. Basically, I’m trying to set up some time so I can get to the legislators to talk about the issues they are facing. OHN: As you undoubtedly read the media coverage in the Portland Tribune, did you have any trepidation about applying for this position? HM: No, because I felt that, actually it was kind of a challenge and we have filled quite a few positions since that Tribune article. And when we’ve asked applicants about that in a similar question, they viewed the issues that were brought up as a challenge. There are some very passionate feelings about where this organization needs to go, and I personally feel that the other 43,000 nurses that are out there and providing excellent care need to be recognized. And I think that’s part of our job – to remind the public that there are many professionals that take care of patients every day that do a great job. Return to topAlso in this issue...
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