MEDIA ADVISORY: NURSES LEAD RALLY TO SAVE SAMARITAN BIRTH CENTERS AND SURGICAL SERVICES, JULY 23 (PHOTO) (Photo) -07/22/25

Patients and health care providers are rallying in support of hospital birth centers as Samaritan Health Services’ executives consider healthcare cuts in Lebanon and Lincoln City. 

WHAT: Community rally to save birth centers and emergency surgery services at Samaritan Lebanon Community Hospital and Samaritan North Lincoln Hospital.

WHERE: Samaritan Lebanon Community Hospital (525 N. Santiam Hwy., Lebanon, OR 97355) 

WHEN: Wednesday, July 23 from 4 – 6 p.m. Speeches after 5 p.m. Nurses and supporters will be available for interviews throughout the event.

WHO: Local nurses and healthcare providers, patients, families and community leaders

WHY: Executives at Samaritan Health Services are considering closing hospital birth centers at Samaritan Lebanon Community Hospital and Samaritan North Lincoln Hospital and eliminating Lebanon’s emergency surgery team among other healthcare cuts.

The cuts could compromise health care access for more than 180,000 residents in Linn and Lincoln Counties and make it even more challenging for Oregonians to get the care they need following federal cuts to the Oregon Health Plan.

Oregon Nurses Association (ONA) members in the Samaritan system have led public opposition to potential cuts. The community and elected officials have joined nurses to defend the birth centers and emergency surgery team. U.S. Senators Jeff Merkley and Ron Wyden and U.S. Representative Val Hoyle (OR-04) called on Samaritan Health Services to maintain rural and coastal Oregonians’ full access to labor and delivery services.  Along with rallies and protests, supporters have sent more than 21,000 emails to Samaritan executives and board members asking them to save local birth centers and the emergency surgery team.

• Supporters can email Samaritan decisionmakers here. 

In addition to delivering babies, healthcare providers at Samaritan's hospital birth centers offer specialized pre-and post-birth care including childbirth classes, lactation support, regular testing for moms and babies with significant health risks and care up to a month after delivery. Community members have relied on the essential birth services provided at Lebanon for more than 80 years.

Closing birth centers has become a dangerous trend in the U.S. More than 500 hospitals in the U.S. have closed their labor and delivery departments since 2010; contributing to rising maternal mortality rates. Since 2019, Oregon health systems closed birth centers at hospitals in Redmond, Baker City and Gresham. Following public outcry and state intervention, Legacy was forced to reopen its birth center at Legacy Mount Hood Medical Center in Gresham shortly after closing.

Wednesday’s rally is a public, family-friendly event. Community members are encouraged to join. 

200 More Legacy Nurses Vote To Join ONA (Photo) -07/15/25

PORTLAND, Ore. - More than 200 resource pool nurses working at Legacy hospitals in Oregon and Washington overwhelmingly voted to join the Oregon Nurses Association (ONA) July 8. Nurses in Legacy’s resource pool “float” to hospitals throughout the Legacy system to fill vacancies in specialty units including hospital emergency departments, operating rooms, family birth centers, pediatric care centers, behavioral health departments and more.

Resource nurses’ unique role as “super-subs” allows them to serve diverse communities across Oregon and Washington and help solve both hospital-specific and systemwide care issues.

“I chose to work in the resource pool so I can go wherever I’m needed most,” said Taeryn Gelowicz, Legacy resource pool nurse and ONA member. “My resource pool colleagues are some of the most skilled, caring and flexible nurses I know. We treat the patient in front of us like they’re our own mom or dad. But given the growing uncertainty in healthcare, we knew we needed a voice in Legacy’s decisionmaking to protect what makes our group special and ensure our patients aren’t left behind.”

As they prepare to bargain a first contract with Legacy executives, nurses plan to prioritize adequate staffing, safe workplaces, increased transparency, and provider input into corporate decisionmaking to ensure patients’ needs come first in a rapidly changing healthcare landscape.

“Nurses are the most trusted professionals in the United States because we’ve always fought for what’s best for patients. That’s what unionizing is. A bunch of workers coming together to make sure our patients get the best care and nurses get the tools and support we need to provide that care to anyone who needs it,” said Tristan Drury, Legacy resource pool nurse and ONA member.

Tuesday’s vote is the latest in a series of union elections at Legacy. In February, more than 2,300 nurses at Legacy Emanuel Medical Center, Randall Children's Hospital at Legacy Emanuel, and Legacy Good Samaritan Medical Center voted to join ONA in a historic win for workers. ONA also represents registered nurses at Legacy Mt. Hood Medical Center, Legacy Silverton Medical Center and Legacy outpatient clinics; nurses and health professionals at Legacy Unity Center for Behavioral Health; and advanced practice providers at Legacy hospitals, Legacy-GoHealth urgent care clinics and women’s clinics.

“I love my job, my coworkers and my patients. I chose to unionize because I want a voice to protect the things that I love,” said Jeff Poulsen, Legacy resource pool nurse and ONA member. “Our ability to fill in the gaps and make sure patients don’t feel the pain of nurse shortages is essential. Looking around you can see healthcare is changing locally and nationally. Without a union, we don’t have a say in how those changes impact our patients or our staff. We unionized to make sure the people patients trust with their lives have a say in how we do our work.” 

Legacy resource pool nurses filed union authorization cards with the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) on May 21, 2025. 

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TODAY: Nurses To Picket Good Samaritan Hospital In Corvallis July 8 (Photo) -07/08/25

MEDIA ADVISORY: July 8, 2025

Local nurses are fighting for fair contracts at two Samaritan hospitals while working to protect local birth centers and emergency surgical services  

WHAT: Informational picket and rally for a fair contract at Good Samaritan Regional Medical Center in Corvallis.

WHERE: Good Samaritan Regional Medical Center (3600 NW Samaritan Dr., Corvallis, OR 97330)

WHEN: Tuesday, July 8 from 1 – 3 p.m. Speeches start at approximately 2:15 p.m. 

Nurses will be available for interviews before and after speeches. 

WHO: Local frontline nurses and healthcare providers, patients and families. 

WHY: Nurses at Good Samaritan Regional Medical Center are holding an informational picket and rally Tuesday, July 8. More than 700 local nurses are currently fighting for fair contracts at both Good Samaritan Regional Medical Center–Samaritan’s flagship hospital in Corvallis–and Samaritan Lebanon Community Hospital in Lebanon. Nurses at both hospitals have been bargaining since March in an attempt to reach a fair contract agreement with Samaritan Health System executives. Nurses’ contracts at Good Samaritan and Samaritan Lebanon expired June 30, 2025.

Nurses at both facilities are committed to reaching a fair contract agreement that includes safe staffing and safe workplaces, fair wages, affordable healthcare, and a stronger voice for providers to improve local healthcare and prevent job cuts and department closures. 

ONA nurses in the Samaritan system have led public opposition to Samaritan’s reported proposals to cut birthing centers at hospitals in Lebanon and Lincoln City and eliminate local emergency surgery teams among other cuts. 

The community has joined nurses and rallied to defend the birth center and emergency surgery team with patients and elected leaders including U.S. Senators Jeff Merkley and Ron Wyden and U.S. Representative Val Hoyle (OR-04), among those publicly calling on Samaritan Health Services to maintain rural and coastal Oregonians’ full access to labor and delivery services.  

• Community members can email Samaritan decisionmakers here to ask them to save local birth centers and preserve access to essential care.  

Community members are encouraged to attend nurses’ informational picket on July 8 to hear directly from local nurses, ask questions, and share concerns and stories about their community’s healthcare.

Media members are encouraged to attend to capture the voices and stories of frontline nurses, healthcare workers and patients.

NOTE: An informational picket is not a strike or work stoppage. It is a demonstration of solidarity and an opportunity to educate the public about their community’s healthcare.  

Oregon Nurses Association Statement On Passage Of HR 1: “A Cruel And Calculated Attack On Oregon Families” -07/03/25

Eastern Oregonians Rally In Baker City To Stop Cuts To SNAP And Medicaid (Photo) -07/02/25

Crowd tells U.S. Rep. Cliff Bentz “It’s not too late to change your vote!”

BAKER CITY, Ore. — Nearly 100 Eastern Oregon residents braved 100-degree temperatures to rally in downtown Baker City today, demanding that U.S. Rep. Cliff Bentz vote no on the budget reconciliation bill that passed the Senate earlier this week. The legislation would slash $1 trillion from Medicaid and SNAP, terminating health coverage for tens of thousands in Bentz’s district and cutting food assistance for working families, children, and seniors.

Oregon Nurses Association President Tamie Cline, a registered nurse from Hermiston and president of the Oregon Nurses Association, said the bill threatens coverage for as many as 60,000 Eastern Oregon residents who rely on the Oregon Health Plan, Oregon’s Medicaid program. Cline said the proposal would devastate rural health care systems and put lives at risk in communities like Baker City that have already lost maternity care services.

“This is not about politics, this isn’t about what political party you support. This is about Eastern Oregon,” Cline said. “It’s about whether families here can see a doctor, afford their prescriptions, and get the care they need, when they need it.”

Cline was joined by speakers from the Oregon Food Bank, Partners for a Hunger-Free Oregon, SEIU, Indivisible, and local residents who rely on the safety net programs now under threat.

“SNAP puts food on the table for one in six families in Baker County,” said Alex Aghdaei of Partners for a Hunger-Free Oregon. “This bill would slash benefits, terminate food assistance for over 100,000 Oregonians, and push more kids and seniors into hunger. Cutting SNAP doesn’t lower food costs — it just makes people go without. Bentz needs to vote no.”

Lindsay Grosvenor of the Oregon Food Bank’s Southeast Oregon region emphasized the stakes for rural communities. “In places like Ontario and Burns, there’s no backup plan if SNAP gets gutted,” said Grosvenor. “Food pantries are already stretched to the limit. Families are doing everything they can to make ends meet. This bill punishes people for being poor. And it will hurt rural Oregon the most.”

Public opinion strongly reflects the concerns raised by rallygoers. According to the latest KFF Health Tracking Poll, 83 percent of Americans view Medicaid favorably, and support for the proposed cuts drops by more than 20 points when people learn they would increase the uninsured rate and reduce hospital funding. And 7 in 10 say they are concerned that families will have trouble affording food as a result of the bill.

Cheryl Campbell, a homecare worker from LaGrande, said that cuts to Medicaid could impact other programs that Oregonians rely on. “One thing people don’t realize is that many programs that make a big difference in the lives of people with developmental disabilities receive two-thirds of their funding from Medicaid dollars,” she said.

Despite widespread opposition from providers, patients, and public health experts, Bentz has continued to support the legislation — voting for it once already. Advocates warned that his next vote could come as early as this week.

“This is the moment,” Cline said in her closing remarks. “Eastern Oregon has always looked out for its own, and we’re proving it again today. We need to flood Bentz’s office with calls. We need to tell our stories. And we need to remind him who he works for.”

The Oregon Nurses Association (ONA) represents a diverse community of more than 24,000 nurses and healthcare professionals throughout Oregon. Together, we use our collective power to advocate for critical issues impacting patients, nurses and healthcare professionals including a more effective, affordable and accessible healthcare system; better working conditions for all healthcare professionals; and healthier communities. For more information, visit www.OregonRN.org.

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MEDIA ADVISORY: EASTERN OREGON RESIDENTS, HEALTH CARE PROVIDERS, AND UNION LEADERS TO RALLY JULY 2 IN BAKER CITY AGAINST MEDICAID & SNAP CUTS -07/01/25

WHEN:

• Senate Republicans’ rushed and reckless Medicaid cuts will terminate health coverage for Oregonians on the Oregon Health Plan, raise everyone’s costs, and close rural hospitals.

• Their SNAP cuts would gut the program and slash $160 from a typical family’s food budget, and strip benefits from 108,000 Oregonians outright.

• Cliff Bentz has a chance to protect Oregon’s most vulnerable by voting NO as the bill returns to the House for a final vote this week. Eastern Oregonians are calling on him to do the right thing.