The latest news stories of interest in the Rogue Valley and the state of Oregon from the digital home of Southern Oregon, Wynne Broadcasting’s RogueValleyMagazine.com
Monday, January 15, 2024
Rogue Valley Weather
ODOT: SW OregonWinter weather causing delays and intermittent closures on Interstate 5 over the Siskiyou Pass, northbound and southbound. Chains are required on all vehicles excluding four wheel drive and all wheel drive vehicles, unless towing. Do not detour on secondary roads. Travel is not recommended at this time. Check TripCheck.com for updates.
Search & Rescue Sends Snowcat to Save 98-Year-Old Woman Snowed in at Her Residence
Crater Lake National Park has been experiencing extreme weather conditions over the past week that have resulted in failures of the park communication system.
This has significantly impacted the ability to report emergency incidents so delays in response should be expected. Due to these conditions all facilities are closed, and backcountry travel is strongly discouraged. Highway 62 through the park remains open, but because of heavy and drifting snow and poor visibility, we are asking visitors to refrain from traveling in the park.
As is typical during winter and spring, the North Entrance Road and Rim Drive are closed for the season. The road from park headquarters to Rim Village is currently closed due to the weather conditions. It is sometimes necessary throughout the course of the winter to close that section of road so the plow operators can focus on roads critical for safety access in the park. When this section of road is closed, there is no way to access a lake view by vehicle.
Updates will be provided as conditions change. Please check for alerts on the park website at www.nps.gov/crla and on the Crater Lake National Park Facebook page at https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100064393373885. Road status is also available on www.tripcheck.com.
Asante Settled Medicare Fraud Allegations at Medford Hospital
The health system now at the center of a local police investigation recently resolved a lengthy federal probe into a whistleblower lawsuit claiming fraudulent billing
The Medford hospital now at the center of a local police investigation recently resolved a lengthy federal probe into a whistleblower lawsuit claiming fraudulent billing
Weeks before local police launched an investigation into reports of alleged drug diversion and potentially related patient deaths at Asante Rogue Medical Center, hospital management quietly settled litigation stemming from a federal Medicare fraud probe.
In 2022, the hospital received 57% of its revenue from government programs including Medicare and Medicaid, or $642 million in all, according to the most recent financial report submitted to state regulators. (READ MORE)
Asante Rogue Regional Medical Center Patient Deaths Investigations Continue
Reports that a nurse at Asante Rogue Regional Medical Center may have sparked fatal infections of patients by replacing fentanyl with tap water in their IV bags have sparked national attention.
For patients, the victims’ relatives, and others in Oregon health care, the reports are sparking questions as well. It now appears that the deaths linked to the Medford hospital occurred over a span of at least 12 months.
Hospital administrators and local law enforcement have not named the suspected employee and released few other details. No indictments have been filed publicly in the case.
Hospital Nurse at Asante Rogue Regional Medical Center in Medford Accused of Replacing Fentanyl with Tap Water Leading to at least 10 Patient Deaths and “Dozens of Patients” Harmed
The Federal Bureau of Investigation says it is involved with an investigation at Asante Rogue Regional Medical Center in Medford. The FBI said it’s aware of allegations there under investigation by local police.
This after some sources say as many as ten people have died. Multiple hospital sources, who declined to be identified, confirmed dozens of patients injured by medication diversion — the act of replacing a medication with another substance. It is believed the fentanyl scheduled to be administered to the patients was then removed from the premises illegally.
Sources allege that a hospital nurse was removing fentanyl from IV bags and replacing it with tap water. The FBI said today it is supporting local police with their work.
Asante issued a statement during the weekend that, “We were distressed to learn of this issue. We reported it to law enforcement and are working closely with them.”
Multiple sources also say that water supplies in the Intensive Care Unit and Coronary Care Unit — which are in an older part of the hospital — are unsafe for use on patients, even for face washing. The hospital made numerous public statements during 2023 pertaining to infections and water quality issues.
OHA state agency is part of an investigation now at a Medford hospital, where local and federal law enforcement agencies are investigating allegations of nursing behavior that could have been deadly.
Oregon Health Authority (OHA) says today it’s “aware of reports of incidents at Asante Rogue Regional Medical Center in Medford involving a nurse alleged to have tampered with pharmaceutical fentanyl used to treat severe pain and introduced tap water in patients’ intravenous lines. OHA also is investigating reports that the incidents led to health care-associated infections that severely injured, and may have caused the deaths of, several patients.”
OHA has a Healthcare-Associated Infections (HAI) Program that, “conducts HAI surveillance in Oregon health care facilities,” working with partners including health care facilities to respond to and contain potential HAI outbreaks.
Sources say the nurse used tap water to cover up the hospital’s misuse of medication. Unnamed hospital sources said “dozens of patients” had been harmed by the replacement of their meds with another substance.
Medford Police have provided no more details. They only confirmed there’s an open investigation at the medical center.
Be alert for landslides across southern and western Oregon
Medford, OR—The National Weather Service has issued a Flood Watch for portions of south-central Oregon, including the south-central Oregon coast. The watch is in effect from Saturday evening to late Monday evening.
Abundant moisture will arrive with the next storm system coming in Friday night through Saturday night. Heavy rain may result in landslides in areas of steep terrain, as well as debris flows in and near burned areas from recent wildfires.
Find the latest information here: https://alerts.weather.gov/cap/or.php?x=1
Debris flows are rapidly moving, extremely destructive landslides. They can contain boulders and logs transported in a fast-moving soil and water slurry down steep hillsides and through narrow canyons. They can easily travel a mile or more. A debris flow moves faster than a person can run. People, structures, and roads located below steep slopes in canyons and near the mouths of canyons may be at serious risk.
If your home, work, or route is in a watch area:
- Stay alert. Track the flood watch by radio, TV, weather radio or online. If told to evacuate, do so immediately.
- Listen. Unusual sounds might indicate moving debris, such as trees cracking or boulders knocking together. A trickle of falling mud or debris may precede larger landslides. If you think there is danger of a landslide, leave immediately.
- Watch the water. If water in a stream or creek suddenly turns muddy or the amount of water flowing suddenly decreases or increases, this is a warning that the flow has been affected upstream. You should immediately leave the area because a debris flow may soon be coming downstream.
- Travel with extreme caution. Assume roads are not safe. Be alert when driving, especially at night. Embankments along roadsides may fail, sending rock and debris onto the road.
For more landslide and debris flow information:
https://www.oregon.gov/dogami/landslide/Pages/debrisflow.aspx
Jackson County Sheriff’s Office Search & Rescue Gearing Up for Winter Storms
Download Video of Search and Rescue in Snow: https://vimeo.com/890446145?share=copy
SOUTHERN OREGON – Jackson County Sheriff’s Office (JCSO) Search and Rescue (SAR) is gearing up for a winter storm tonight, bringing the potential for heavy mountain snow and strong winds. The National Weather Service Medford has issued multiple winter storm warnings for Tuesday night through Wednesday morning. NWS Medford is calling for heavy mountain snow and strong winds brining frequent whiteout conditions. Snow levels will lower from 3000 to 200 ft. overnight. Snow may even accumulate on Rogue Valley floors during the storm.
As always, human safety is our #1 priority. We take the risk to SAR personnel into consideration during every mission, and this storm brings the considerable danger of heavy snow and fallen trees, which could further delay response times.
BE PREPARED: If you are venturing into the mountains during winter be prepared to self-rescue in the event SAR response is delayed. Make sure you have chains, warm clothes, a shovel, and a fully charged cell phone. Check the weather forecast before leaving as conditions may change quickly. Always notify someone of your travel plans, when you are expected to return, and when/where they should notify authorities to start searching.
SHARE MY TRIP: To best notify SAR of your potential location during a rescue, JCSO offers the Sheriff’s App “Share My Trip” feature. JCSO developed this feature with the understanding that response time is crucial in search and rescue operations. The information you provide in this form will help our Search and Rescue personnel make more informed decisions which will result in quicker, more effective responses. Download the App here: https://apps.myocv.com/share/a72997501.
MISSING PERSON – ATTEMPT TO LOCATE
CASE:24-00114
NAME: PAIGE F. LEIGHTON
AGE: 33
SEX: FEMALE
RACE: WHITE
HEIGHT: 5’6″
WEIGHT: 190LBS
HAIR: BROWN (BLONDE IN THE PICTURE PROVIDED)
EYES: BLUE
INFORMATION:
Paige F. Leighton was last contacted by family members on December 1st, 2023. Leighton was homeless in the Merlin area prior to going missing. Leighton is believed to be either in the Southern Oregon or San Francisco area.
PLEASE CONTACT THE JOSEPHINE COUNTY SHERIFF’S OFFICE WITH ANY INFORMATION 541-474-5123.
5 things to know about Medford hospital employee’s alleged fentanyl diversion
PART 2 – Newsweek Podcast Focusing on The Disappearance of Fauna Frey From Lane County
Here One Minute, Gone the Next —– PART 2 – Josephine County Sheriff Dave Daniel joins investigative journalist Alex Rogue to speak with Here One Minute, Gone the Next about the disappearance of Fauna Frey, the growing friction between citizen investigators and law enforcement, and the lack of resources in missing persons cases. https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-disappearance-of-fauna-frey-pt2-feat-sheriff/id1707094441?i=1000630100040
PART 1 – John Frey joins Newsweek to discuss exclusive details about the case of his missing daughter that until now have been unavailable to the general public.
If you have any information on the whereabouts of Fauna Frey, call the anonymous tip line at 541-539-5638 or email FindFaunaFrey@gmail.com.
Help Find Fauna Frey #FindFaunaFrey FACEBOOK GROUP
Ice and Snow and Freezing Temperatures — ODOT traffic alert: Road conditions remain challenging statewide
The Pacific Northwest is expected to see freezing temperatures and maybe even lowland snow this week as part of the polar vortex blasts southward from the Arctic. ODOT is alerting travelers during the extended holiday weekend for Martin Luther King Say that road conditions remain challenging statewide as freezing temperatures span across much of the northern part of Oregon.
Here is the full announcement from ODOT:
In the Portland Metro area, ice and strong winds are toppling trees and bringing down powerlines. Widespread power outages mean that many electronic road signs and traffic lights may be out. Treat traffic signals that aren’t working like a four-way stop. Never drive over downed power lines.
The Willamette Valley and central Coast areas are experiencing icy roads and freezing temperatures. Expect long highway closures as crews work to remove hundreds of downed trees, and repair powerlines and network cables.
Temperatures across these areas are not forecast to be above freezing for the next few days. There is a strong possibility we could see more freezing rain on Tuesday.
Warming temperatures in southwest Oregon could lead to flooding. Watch for high water and debris on the roadway, especially on valley and coastal routes. Delays and closures are likely on mountain highways as crews work to remove snow and downed trees.
The safest place to be during winter road conditions is at home. Our crews want to give a heartfelt thank you to every person who decided not to travel this weekend. Staying off the roads gives our crews and emergency responders the space to get where they need to go.
Road and weather conditions can change quickly and make travel difficult or impossible. For the latest state highway information and to see current closures, visit Tripcheck.com. For the latest weather, visit the National Weather Service website.
If you must travel, be prepared – Safety is our priority – for travelers and our road crews. If you decide to travel, plan extra time for your journey and carry emergency supplies. Delays and closures are happening statewide. Expect to encounter chain restrictions.
Give snowplows and emergency crews extra space to do their work, and never pass a snowplow on the right. Our crews are working hard to clear roads, but their job becomes more difficult when disabled cars and trucks block traffic.
For more winter weather driving tips, see our winter travel news packet.
To see images from this winter event from across Oregon, see our January 2024 Flickr album.
Watches, Warnings or Advisories for Oregon https://alerts.weather.gov/cap/or.php?x=1
Family of 5 hospitalized for carbon monoxide poisoning after running a generator indoors and cooking inside the apartment with a propane camp stove in Portland apartments
Five people, including children, were taken to a hospital for carbon monoxide poisoning from a southeast Portland apartment complex on Sunday, according to Portland Fire & Rescue.
At about 2:30 pm on Sunday, firefighters responded to the area of Southeast 148th Avenue and Powell for a medical call from apartment complex neighbor Isabela Royer.
Portland Fire & Rescue said the five people were all conscious and breathing by the time they were taken to the hospital.
Because the apartment building had lost power, crews determined the family had been running a generator indoors and cooking inside the apartment with a propane camp stove.
After the incident, the Oregon Poison Center posted a warning on social media about generators or gas cookers:
“If you lost power in this weekend’s #WinterStorm, it is critical that you DO NOT use outdoor cooking appliances indoors. Grills and BBQs produce carbon monoxide which can be deadly when it builds up in an enclosed space.”
And PF&R posted a warning reminding people that carbon monoxide is a “silent, colorless, odorless, tasteless killer.”
The largest dam removal in U.S. history entered a critical phase this week, with the lowering of dammed reservoirs on the Klamath River.
On Thursday, the gate on a 16-foot-wide bypass tunnel at the base of Iron Gate dam, the lowest of those slated to be removed, was opened from a crack to 36 inches.
Amy Cordalis stood in the dawn chill to witness the first big surge as the gate was widened. She’s an attorney and Yurok Tribe member who has played a critical role in advocating for dam removal. As water poured through the tunnel, she could hear boulders rolling and tumbling. The water turned to dark chocolate milk as decades of pent-up sediment surged through.
“This is historic and life-changing,” Cordalis said. “And it means that the Yurok people have a future. It means the river has a future; the salmon have a future.”
One hundred seventy-three feet high, with a 740-foot crest, Iron Gate is an earth embankment dam with a skinny, many-fingered reservoir behind it. The lowering — or drawdown — of Iron Gate and two other reservoirs on the Klamath River will make way for the removal of three remaining hydroelectric dams that are part of the Lower Klamath Project in Northern California and southern Oregon.
For decades, these barriers have blocked salmon, steelhead and Pacific lamprey from accessing habitat above them and contributed to poor water quality below. The Klamath River was once the third-largest salmon producer on the West Coast, but in the time since the dams were constructed, the Klamath’s coho and Chinook runs have dwindled to a fraction of their historic abundance.
When tribal activists first started calling for the removal of four Klamath River dams in the late 1990s, people thought they were “crazy,” said Leaf Hillman, an elder of the Karuk Tribe who helped launch the campaign. “We’ve never really considered any other alternative to removing dams. And so it was a fight that we were committed to, and that we knew that we had to win. And it’s been an intergenerational struggle.”
A massive die-off of Chinook salmon in 2002 catalyzed increased activism around getting the dams removed. An estimated 34,000 to 78,000 fish died. The loss of these fish didn’t just mean the loss of a fun summer fishing activity, said Brook Thompson, a Yurok Tribe member who was 7 years old at the time and is now in her late 20s. “Those salmon to me are the connections I have with my relatives,” she explained. “In a day, that was all gone.”
For the next week, water will flow through the bypass tunnel at an average rate of 2,200 cubic feet per second, draining down Iron Gate reservoir between two and four feet per day. Later this month, J.C. Boyle, the uppermost of the three dams, will be breached, followed by Copco 1. By June, the Klamath River should be flowing more or less within its historic channel, and the work of dismantling the structures can begin.
Advocates are quick to point out that dam removal alone will not save the Klamath River’s salmon runs. However, removing the barriers will open up 76 miles of coho habitat and over 400 miles of Chinook habitat, says Shari Witmore, a fish biologist at NOAA Fisheries.
If modeling is correct, as many as 80% more Chinook salmon could return to the basin within about 30 years after the dams are removed. Ocean harvest could increase by as much as 46%. But this will depend in part on restoring important tributaries, including the cold spring-fed rivers in the upper Klamath Basin, which have been compromised with diking and draining of wetlands.
“Once we restore that, we put this basin back together,” Witmore says. “That creates a lot of resilience over time with climate change, and it buffers against multi-year droughts.”
Cordalis, the Yurok Tribe member, agrees that more work lies ahead. But she’s also looking forward to fulfilling a simple personal goal. “Fishing,” she said. “I want to go fishing.” To see more, visit https://www.npr.org
A new COVID variant has become dominant in Oregon, according to data from the state Health Authority.
JN.1 is an Omicron subvariant which was first detected in August. The CDC projects that it may now make up as many as two-thirds of U.S. cases.
In Oregon, the variant reached a 58% share in mid-December, according to the most recently sequenced samples from the OHA. And state officials expect that those figures will continue rising.
The variant’s emergence in Oregon has coincided with rising cases and hospitalizations. Cieslak said there’s no firm evidence JN.1 has contributed, but it would make sense.
Cieslak said there’s no evidence that JN.1 leads to infections that are more severe or deadly. The World Health Organization has declared it a “variant of interest,” but said it poses a low additional threat to public health.
Red Cross: Emergency blood shortage may delay medical procedures — American Red Cross – Cascades Region
Donors urged to give now as nation faces lowest number of blood donors in decades —- Donors have the chance to help save lives, win trip to Super Bowl LVIII
The American Red Cross is experiencing an emergency blood shortage as the nation faces the lowest number of people giving blood in 20 years. The Red Cross blood supply has fallen to critically low levels across the country, and blood and platelet donors are urged to make a donation appointment to help alleviate the shortage and help ensure lifesaving medical procedures are not put on hold.
Over the last 20 years, the number of people donating blood to the Red Cross has fallen by about 40%. When fewer people donate blood, even small disruptions to blood donations – such as the nearly 7,000-unit shortfall in blood donations the Red Cross experienced between Christmas and New Year’s Day alone – can have a huge impact on the availability of blood products and dramatic consequences for those in need of emergency blood transfusion. Blood products are currently going to hospitals faster than blood donations are coming in, and in recent weeks, the Red Cross has had to limit distributions of type O blood products – among the most transfused blood types – to hospitals.
“Small changes in blood donor turnout can have a huge impact on the availability of blood products and dramatic consequences for those in need of an emergency blood transfusion,” said Dr. Eric Gehrie, executive physician director for the Red Cross. “More challenges may lie ahead as the potential for severe winter weather and seasonal illness may compound the dire blood supply situation. Donors of all types – especially those with type O blood and those giving platelets – are urged to give now.”
Don’t wait – to make an appointment, download the Red Cross Blood Donor App, visit RedCrossBlood.org or call 1-800-RED CROSS (1-800-733-2767).
The Red Cross and the National Football League (NFL) are partnering this January, during National Blood Donor Month, to urge individuals to give blood or platelets and help tackle the emergency blood shortage. Those who come to give blood, platelets or plasma in January will automatically be entered for a chance to win a trip for two to Super Bowl LVIII in Las Vegas. For details, visit RedCrossBlood.org/Super Bowl.
Who donations help
Sandy Thornton, of Dallas, Oregon, knows firsthand how important a readily available blood and platelet supply is. Sandy battled a rare form of cancer called Myelodysplastic Syndrome and Myleo Fibrosis. She received numerous blood and platelet transfusions until eventually needing a stem cell transplant.
“There are people who cannot get a stem cell transplant, which means they face a lifetime of platelet or blood transfusions. That’s their life. Blood is a lifesaver no matter how you look at it. It’s not just about when disasters happen, it’s when people get sick,” shares Sandy.
About the American Red Cross:
The American Red Cross shelters, feeds and provides comfort to victims of disasters; supplies about 40% of the nation’s blood and is the primary blood supplier to 65 hospitals throughout Washington and Oregon; teaches skills that save lives; distributes international humanitarian aid; and supports veterans, military members and their families. The Red Cross is a nonprofit organization that depends on volunteers and the generosity of the American public to deliver its mission. For more information, please visit redcross.org or CruzRojaAmericana.org, or follow us on social media.
