Read more about the work the hospital association is doing on behalf of Oregon’s hospitals.
Hospitals are experiencing the increasing pressure of an inflationary environment. Their operating expenses continued to rise in the second quarter, with employee costs (which make up half of total operating expenses) increasing 31% from the second quarter of 2020. Spending on supplies has also increased sharply, by 52%.
While Oregon hospitals saw modest improvement in their operating margins and revenue in the first quarter of 2023, they continue to be financially stressed by rising expenses and a decline in hospital visits.
In a show of strong bipartisan support, the Oregon Senate passed House Bill 2697, a groundbreaking piece of legislation that will make significant advances in hospital staffing and patient care.
Despite the financial havoc wrought by the COVID-19 pandemic, including sharply rising costs and stagnant revenue, Oregon hospitals’ total community benefit spending grew by $225 million in 2021 to $1.97 billion.
Rising expenses, workforce shortages, and stalled revenue cratered Oregon hospitals’ operating margins in 2022, putting hospitals in one of the worst overall financial positions seen since 1993.
In a series of regular columns, Hospital Association of Oregon President and CEO Becky Hultberg shares her view on how Oregon hospitals are making a difference in the communities they serve.
We are grateful for the trust Oregon’s hospitals have built over the years, and we hope to use that trust as a foundation to innovate and improve our health care system, putting our patients and communities at the center of all we do.
For more than 90 years, the Hospital Association of Oregon has been the voice for our state’s community hospitals. But a lot has changed during that time, and it is time for us to change, too.
When it comes to their health, Oregonians trust the teams of professionals who care for them because they have confidence that those teams can work together to navigate a constantly changing environment.
With hospitals still reeling from the pandemic and economic headwinds like inflation adding to their strain, we set ambitious public policy goals to ensure Oregonians would have access to the care they deserve now and into the future.
I’ve always found inspiration in the stories of people drawn to do the difficult work of health care. My own journey, while circuitous, was shaped by important events in my life.
For more than a century, Oregon’s not-for-profit hospitals have worked hard to keep our communities healthy.
Using the data provided by our affiliate organization, Apprise Health Insights, the Hospital Association of Oregon continues to produce valuable reports highlighting the financial health of Oregon’s hospitals as well as health care workforce and patient care trends.
Analysis of the utilization and financial data submitted by Oregon's hospitals and a forward look into current trends.
Analysis of the utilization and financial data submitted by Oregon's hospitals and a forward look into current trends.
Oregon’s nonprofit hospitals and health systems are driven by a mission to provide high-quality health care, no matter patients’ ability to pay.
Analysis of the utilization and financial data submitted by Oregon's hospitals and a look into year-end and current trends.
This report aims to provide a quarterly analysis of the utilization and financial data submitted by Oregon’s hospitals.
The Oregon Hospital Political Action Committee (OHPAC) is the political voice for Oregon hospitals and health systems. OHPAC works to elect officials and help candidates understand the importance of strong community hospitals and health systems in Oregon.
OHPAC was founded in 1982 as a non-profit, non-partisan, voluntary membership-based organization that supports political candidates and elected officials who understand the importance of maintaining strong, community-based hospitals in Oregon.
OHPAC seeks to create a shared recognition in Salem and Washington, D.C. of the dual roles played by Oregon hospitals as community health advocates and as essential employers within those communities. OHPAC members provide grassroots and financial support to legislative candidates and office holders who demonstrate a commitment to Oregon’s community hospitals.
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According to the Occupational Health and Safety Administration, two of the leading causes of health care worker injuries are manual patient lifting and workplace violence. Musculoskeletal disorder injuries are generally due to overexertion related to repeated manual patient handling activities, often involving heavy manual lifting associated with transferring and repositioning patients and working in extremely awkward postures. The consequences of work-related musculoskeletal injuries among health care workers are substantial both to the workers themselves and to employers.
Meanwhile, health care and social assistance workers are nearly five times more likely to be injured and require time away from work as a result of workplace violence. Oregon’s hospitals are committed to a culture of safety and believe that no incidence of violence should be tolerated.
To help address these issues, the Hospital Association of Oregon convened the Workplace Safety Initiative (WSI) Work Group in 2014 to find ways to collaboratively work on solutions. Work group members included representatives from SEIU Local 49, the Oregon Nurses Association, and representatives from various member hospitals in Oregon. Lynda Enos, RN, BSN, MS, COHN-S, CPE, Ergonomics/Human Factors Consultant, HumanFit, LLC was the consultant working directly with the pilot hospitals, including writing the WPV toolkit and the SPH tools.
The goals of the WSI project are to:
To reach these goals, the group developed a pilot project working with Oregon hospitals. Volunteer hospitals of varying sizes from across the state participated in the safe patient handling project or the Workplace Violence Prevention project. The work with these pilot hospitals directly informed the materials provided below.
