Sen. David Brock Smith, left, with SCHHC CEO Raymond Hino on a visit to Salem

Feb. 14, 2025

SALEM – Oregon Sen. David Brock Smith, R-Port Orford, has introduced a bill that would give $2.2 million to Southern Coos Hospital & Health Center next fiscal year to help expand medical services.

The Bill for an Act was introduced into committee on Feb. 10 during the regular Oregon Legislative session.

The Act appropriates money to the Oregon Department of Administration Services for distribution to Southern Coos Hospital & Health Center to “expand access to primary, specialty and pharmacy services in and around Bandon, Oregon.”

The draft summary also declares an emergency indicating the Act is “necessary for the immediate preservation of the public peace, health and safety.”

If approved, the money would come out of the state’s General Fund for the biennium beginning July 1, 2025.

SCHHC CEO Raymond Hino said this is the second time Sen. Smith has introduced a bill to assist Southern Coos Hospital & Health Center and other rural hospitals on the South Coast. However, the previous bill, introduced in 2023, did not make it out of committee for consideration by the Legislature.

Hino said the hospital is moving forward to establish a pharmacy that will be available to the public. Costs for that project have increased from the first estimate of $200,000 to just over $300,000. Work is expected to begin soon, with a completion date sometime in early spring 2025.

Discounted drug pricing that will be passed onto consumers is available to SCHHC because of its Critical Access Hospital status. The new pharmacy will be located in the hospital’s Multi-Specialty Clinic on the facility’s campus.

SCHHC is also working on a Master Facilities Plan to determine what is needed for the hospital to expand other healthcare services to the community. Funding for that plan came from the Bandon Dunes Charitable Foundation.

Sen. Smith has been instrumental in representing the South Coast in Salem by highlighting some of the healthcare issues facing rural hospitals and health centers.

He sponsored a bill on Feb. 6 to appropriate $10 million to Bay Area Hospital to assist with some of the financial issues facing that facility. Also on Feb. 6, Smith sponsored a bill to appropriate $5 million to Coast Community Health Center to help provide healthcare services after it temporarily closed due to financial difficulties.

“We are grateful to Sen. David Brock Smith and to all of our Oregon senators and representatives in Salem and Washington, D.C. for listening and responding to our concerns, all with the goal of preserving access to healthcare in our rural communities,” Hino said.

News Source : https://southerncoos.org/sen-smith-introduces-bill-to-help-schhc-expand-access-to-services/