Columbia Memorial Hospital | Annual Report 2020

The upside of a difficult year By Erik Thorsen, CEO 2020 was a year unlike any other. It didn’t go as anyone planned, but I’m immensely proud of Columbia Memorial Hospital’s work and progress, despite the threat of a global pandemic. As an independent, locally governed, not- for-profit hospital, we were able to respond to the pandemic early and quickly. We made some difficult, but fortunately temporary decisions that allowed us to keep our doors open now and into the future. Other rural hospitals have not been as fortunate. The news was littered with reports of hospitals closing or filing for bankruptcy last year. It was a testament to our caregivers’ resourcefulness that we were visited by federal and state officials. In November, we hosted former U.S. Deputy Secretary of Health and Human Services Eric Hargan and Oregon Health Authority Director Pat Allen. They spent time touring the hospital and talking to caregivers about the changes brought on by the pandemic. Although 2020 was difficult and tragic, I believe that our local health care community is stronger and more resilient because of the challenges we’ve faced. And for this, we can be glad. CMH ANNUAL REPORT is published as a community service by COLUMBIA MEMORIAL HOSPITAL, a Planetree Gold-Certified Person-Centered Care Facility. 2111 Exchange St., Astoria, OR 97103, telephone 503-325-4321, website: columbiamemorial.org For information about CMH HEALTH COMPASS: Nancee Long , Director of Communications Erik Thorsen Chief Executive Officer Nicole Williams Chief Operating Officer Zach Schmitt Chief Financial Officer Jarrod Karnofski Vice President, Ancillary and Support Services Judy Geiger Vice President, Patient Care Services Constance Waisanen President, Board of Trustees Information in CMH ANNUAL REPORT comes from a wide range of medical experts. If you have any concerns or questions about specific content that may affect your health, please contact your health care provider. Models may be used in photos and illustrations. 2021 © Coffey Communications, Inc. All rights reserved. Average provider rating 4.5/5 STARS CMH employees Teamwork 671 Up to the challenge By Camilo Rosales, MD, CMH board member, President of the professional staff What a year 2020 was! The COVID-19 pandemic was a test of our global, national and local health care systems. The pandemic brought a halt to many routine hospital services at first. As we learned more about the virus, CMH’s medical providers and administration worked together to modify procedures and processes so that we could safely perform elective surgeries and provide follow-up care. These modified processes also gave our medical providers the tools to continue to safely provide inpatient care. Moving forward, with gratitude Even as we were adapting to the challenges the COVID-19 pandemic brought, the CMH professional staff continued moving forward in several major areas. CMH’s physicians became more closely integrated with OHSU, which brought additional resources to our community. Vascular surgery and tele-ICU, notably, have been welcome additions. CMH’s professional staff and caregivers responded with ingenuity and teamwork to ensure and improve the health and welfare of our community. I would also like to recognize the achievements and contributions of Dr. Robert Holland and Dr. Katherine Merrill, who retired in 2020, and Dr. Ramchander Madhavarapu (“Dr. Ram”), who retired in 2021. They have been pillars in our medical community for decades. We also said goodbye to Dr. Nathan Amrine. The compassion, professionalism and leadership of these medical professionals will be missed.