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PRESS RELEASE

The Oregon Health Authority announced, “Oregon’s 3,627th COVID-19 related death is a 20-year-old woman from Baker County who tested positive on Sept. 11 and died on Sept. 20 at St. Alphonsus Medical Center. Presence of underlying conditions is being confirmed.” This is the twenty-fourth death of a county resident, and the youngest county resident to date whose death is related to COVID-19.

Commissioner Mark Bennett said, “I’m so sorry for her family and friends’ loss. Please keep her family and friends in our thoughts and prayers. This week has been particularly hard with so many deaths reported.”

In the past seven days, five COVID-19 related deaths of county residents have been reported.

To protect the privacy and well-being of the family, and to maintain compliance with health information privacy regulations, no further information about the individuals will be released by the County. We encourage everyone to be respectful as these families in our community are grieving.

PRESS RELEASE

The Baker County Board of Commissioners declared a local emergency today. The declaration states the Baker County Incident Management Team determined beginning October 18, Baker County will be unable to provide for pre-hospital emergency response and Saint Alphonsus Medical Center will be unable to provide basic hospital care as a result of staffing shortages when the COVID-19 vaccine mandate for medical staff goes into effect.

The declaration requested the Governor address the state’s vaccine mandates, “to prevent further erosion of the vital public health and safety workforce”, or provide resources necessary to protect the citizens and visitors of Baker County, along with users of the state highway system.

“The impending deadline for all healthcare workers to be fully vaccinated by October 18 has led to a series of difficult choices. We can’t head into a situation where there are not enough responders available to handle medical events throughout the County, including those that happen on the highways and interstate. We also cannot accept a situation where the hospital doesn’t have sufficient staffing to provide basic hospital care. Our responsibility is to the health and safety of our community, and we have to come up with options for the inevitable times when accidents or health emergencies will occur,” Commissioner Mark Bennett said.

The declaration outlines how the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic has exhausted many providers of core public services, including first responders and healthcare providers. The recent rise in COVID-19 cases has further strained those services. The mandate for health care workers to be fully vaccinated by October 18 is resulting in “significant numbers of the exhausted workforce” to leave employment, resulting in a situation where there will not be enough remaining personnel to provide the basic level of pre-hospital emergency care and hospital care that’s needed.

County Commissioners have pledged to continue working with state and local partners on solutions to maintain health services throughout the county. The full declaration is attached.

Full Declaration

PRESS RELEASE

The Oregon Health Authority announced the twenty-second and twenty-third COVID-19 related deaths of Baker County residents today. Four COVID-19 related deaths of county residents have been reported in the last six days. The Oregon Health Authority states, “Oregon’s 3,599th COVID-19 related death is a 70-year-old man from Baker County who tested positive on Sept. 3 and died on Sept. 18 at Saint Alphonsus Regional Medical Center in Boise. Presence of underlying conditions is being confirmed. Oregon’s 3,600th COVID-19 related death is an 83-year-old man from Baker County who tested positive on Sept. 3 and died on Sept. 16 at Saint Alphonsus Regional Medical Center in Boise. Presence of underlying conditions is being confirmed.”

Commissioner Mark Bennett said, “I hope for solace for all of the families who are grieving in our community right now, and I’m sorry for the community’s loss of these two men. This many deaths reported inside a week is a hard blow for our small community.”

To protect the privacy and well-being of the family, and to maintain compliance with health information privacy regulations, no further information about the individual will be released by the County. We encourage everyone to be respectful as a family in our community grieves.