Health Compass Newsletter

Patients can see their trusted CMH-OHSU Health providers in one of our convenient locations — and benefit from expert consultations and access to all of OHSU's resources right here in our community.

Here on the North Coast, residents choose to live in rural communities to have stronger connections with neighbors, enjoy a peaceful environment and have access to nature. CMH believes people who value living in rural communities shouldn't have to sacrifice quality health care.

The CMH-OHSU Health collaboration has made it possible for high-quality specialty care to be available to patients in their own neighborhood, taking away the need to travel away from home to receive health care.

This partnership has also led to the addition of several specialty services that would not normally be accessible in a rural area. Thanks to the collaboration, CMH and our patients benefit from tele-ICU services, rotating Emergency Department residents and provision of specialty care, such as the CMH-OHSU Health Cardiology Clinic. These are just a few examples of the benefits that the collaboration has created for local residents.

Both CMH and OHSU continue to collaborate on other areas of growth that will benefit the community. Read more about these joint efforts:

Enhancing critical care with tele-ICU services

In 2020, CMH's Critical Care Unit welcomed a new, robotic member of the team. When visiting a patient, a hospitalist may bring the rolling monitor with them to the bedside. The robot allows an OHSU intensive care physician (intensivist) to see and hear patients and provide consultations on the spot.

This remote collaboration between CMH hospitalists, caregivers and OHSU intensivists ensures that patients are receiving the highest level of intensive care services possible locally.

CMH is a member of the OHSU Telemedicine Network and has used this vital, lifesaving service in the
CMH Emergency Department for years to care for stroke, pediatric and neonatal patients.

A residency program in the Emergency Department

In February 2016, the CMH Emergency Department welcomed its first second-year resident physicians. A resident physician, or resident, has already completed a medical degree and is participating in specialized training, such as emergency medicine or surgery. Residents provide medical care under the supervision of a more experienced doctor.

Residents at CMH each spend a four-week rotation in our community caring for patients in the Emergency Department and developing their skills with the oversight of the attending physician. At CMH, these doctors have the opportunity to really grow in their practice. They experience what it is like to care for patients in a rural setting, where they can't rely on as many readily available specialists.

Their experience here is a glimpse of what life after residency may be like in a rural environment. Some of our residents have even returned to CMH to work permanently after they have finished their residency!

A provider's perspective on OHSU support

The CMH-OHSU Health Cardiology Clinic opened in December 2010, under the guidance of Diana Rinkevich, MD.

Dr. Rinkevich is the medical director of the clinic and the CMH Cardiac Rehab Program. She is also an associate professor of medicine at OHSU.

Under Dr. Rinkevich's guidance, the clinic has become one of CMH's busiest clinics.

"We came here with only one provider, thinking the needs of the community would be fulfilled," Dr. Rinkevich says. "At the moment we have five providers, and we're in the process of recruiting another two because we are growing our services."

CMH and OHSU's partnership supports residents on the north coast of Oregon and the southwest coast of Washington by reducing the amount of time patients and their families spend traveling to appointments.

Wait times for appointments are also reduced because patients don't need to establish care a second time through the clinic if they are already a CMH patient.

"If patients need further advanced procedures, they'll go to OHSU, then come back and be seen here at CMH," Dr. Rinkevich says. "Many of our patients can receive all of their care here in our community without driving all the way to Portland."

The collaboration has also brought more specialty services to CMH, such as inserting pacemakers and having an electrophysiologist meet with patients to diagnose electrical heart system issues. CMH's echocardiography unit is also the only facility on Oregon's coast that is triple-accredited by the Intersocietal Accreditation Commission.

Thanks to the collaboration with OHSU, the clinic helps patients receive the highest quality of care, close to home.

Categories: Advanced care