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WEDNESDAY, JULY 23, 2025

Brookings, Oregon

Brookings Line Worker

Helps Light Up Rural Community BY KELSEY BOZEMAN Gary Veach has climbed thousands of poles and strung countless miles of wire, but he had never seen what electricity meant to people who have never had it. The Coos-Curry Electric Cooperative line foreman has spent decades connecting power lines, restoring electricity after storms and extending service to remote Oregon communities and recently had the opportunity to extend his skill outside of this country. In the Guatemalan village of Aldea El Coco, where families lived for generations without power, Veach discovered the true impact of his life-long work. Veach volunteered for Oregon Empowers’ second electriﬁcation trip to Guatemala. He expected a straightforward job, string some line, place poles and install some in-house wiring, but in this remote village cut off from the modern world, working alongside seventeen other Oregon utility workers, he witnessed something far more meaningful. “When the ﬁrst light bulbs illuPlease see LINE WORKER Page 4

Electrifying: An Oregon Empowers group helps bring electricity to Aldea El Coco Guatemala.

While Some Oregon Hospitals

Face "Brink" of Closure,

Curry General Charts New Course with Technology

Curry General: Looking forward to embrace tomorrow’s technology. healthcare space. “Artificial intelligence is already being used by insurance companies to deny claims,” said Williams “and electronic health records are assisting providers to ensure they document more accurately and efficiently. CHN will be adopting AI technology called ambient listening which will dramatically reduce the amount of time a provider spends typing and checking boxes, allowing more time with patients and a better work life balance. We are also evaluating technology that will allow patients to self-check in, self-schedule and a variety of other patient facing enhancements. Artificial Intelligence will also expedite certain

BY LORI STODDARD Four Oregon hospitals are at risk of closing because of Medicaid cuts in the new Federal Budget, but Curry General isn’t one of them, according to Curry Health Network’s (CHN) General Chief Executive Officer (CEO) Virginia Williams. “While a reduction in Medicaid payments will require us to do more, with less money, we will need to find ways to be more efficient, especially by leveraging the advancements in technology,” said Williams. Williams said that means going beyond telehealth services and exploring the way Artificial Intelligence (A)I can work in the

clinical tasks that can only be done by very specialized providers, such as radiology interpretations. Many other advancements are being made in the healthcare sector.” Using AI technology and telehealth could save important dollars for struggling Oregon Hospitals. Oregon Public Broadcasting reports that Oregon hospitals are “on the brink,” according to a recent Oregon Hospital Association report with half of them losing money on operations and more than two-thirds say they don’t have the resources to keep up with patient care. This data is from 2024. The anticipated federal cuts to Medicaid make the outlook even

worse. Becky Hultberg, the President and CEO of the Hospital Association of Oregon, said that if the trends continue, or worsen, the state will see “a cascade of service closures, hospital consolidations or hospital closures.” Hultberg also said, “Oregon already has the second fewest hospital beds per capita. We can’t afford to lose these beds.” And while Curry General Hospital isn’t at risk of closing right now, Oregon Senators Ron Wyden and Jeff Merkley, both Democrats, warned even before it was passed, that the Republican bill with its Medicaid cuts could be devastating to Oregon’s rural hospitals in communities like Curry County.

Ocean Fishing Scholarships Available from the Oregon Marine Reserves

The Oregon department of Fish and Wildlife (ODFW) Marine Reserves program secured a National Oceanic Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) Dash Fisheries Grant. It will fund ocean ﬁshing scholarships to remove poten-

tial ﬁnancial barriers for participation in hook and line surveys in the Cascade Head Marine Reserve near Depoe Bay and the deadline to apply has been extended to August 18th. The scholarships aim to bring anglers to the reserves

INDEX

who are historically underrepresented in the surveys. Surveys currently rely heavily on male retirees who live on the coast and can pay their travel and lodging expenses for participation. There is also a large contingent of repeat anglers.

Looking to expand the breadth of participation in the program, there are now two Fishing Scholarship, per day, currently planned. Volunteer anglers join marine reserves staff, on a charter boat, where anglers catch ﬁsh in

“Hospitals are often the backbone of rural communities in Oregon and across the nation. They are often the largest employer in a rural community, and more often than not, many of the families they serve count on Medicaid for health care,” said Wyden, Ranking Member of the Senate Finance Committee. “The Republican bill would hit rural Oregon like a wrecking ball and among the ﬁrst to suffer would be the rural hospitals and those they serve and employ who are already walking on an economic tightrope.” The reality is, rural hospitals like Curry General struggle because they treat more uninPlease see CURRY GENERAL Page 4

Please see SCHOLARSHIPS Page 4

Phone Number: 541-813-1717 • Address: 519 Chetco Avenue, Unit 7, Brookings, OR 97415 • Email: Circulation@CountryMedia.net

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