TODAY: Nurses To Picket Good Samaritan Hospital In Corvallis July 8 (Photo) -07/08/25

MEDIA ADVISORY: July 8, 2025

Local nurses are fighting for fair contracts at two Samaritan hospitals while working to protect local birth centers and emergency surgical services  

WHAT: Informational picket and rally for a fair contract at Good Samaritan Regional Medical Center in Corvallis.

WHERE: Good Samaritan Regional Medical Center (3600 NW Samaritan Dr., Corvallis, OR 97330)

WHEN: Tuesday, July 8 from 1 – 3 p.m. Speeches start at approximately 2:15 p.m. 

Nurses will be available for interviews before and after speeches. 

WHO: Local frontline nurses and healthcare providers, patients and families. 

WHY: Nurses at Good Samaritan Regional Medical Center are holding an informational picket and rally Tuesday, July 8. More than 700 local nurses are currently fighting for fair contracts at both Good Samaritan Regional Medical Center–Samaritan’s flagship hospital in Corvallis–and Samaritan Lebanon Community Hospital in Lebanon. Nurses at both hospitals have been bargaining since March in an attempt to reach a fair contract agreement with Samaritan Health System executives. Nurses’ contracts at Good Samaritan and Samaritan Lebanon expired June 30, 2025.

Nurses at both facilities are committed to reaching a fair contract agreement that includes safe staffing and safe workplaces, fair wages, affordable healthcare, and a stronger voice for providers to improve local healthcare and prevent job cuts and department closures. 

ONA nurses in the Samaritan system have led public opposition to Samaritan’s reported proposals to cut birthing centers at hospitals in Lebanon and Lincoln City and eliminate local emergency surgery teams among other cuts. 

The community has joined nurses and rallied to defend the birth center and emergency surgery team with patients and elected leaders including U.S. Senators Jeff Merkley and Ron Wyden and U.S. Representative Val Hoyle (OR-04), among those publicly calling on Samaritan Health Services to maintain rural and coastal Oregonians’ full access to labor and delivery services.  

• Community members can email Samaritan decisionmakers here to ask them to save local birth centers and preserve access to essential care.  

Community members are encouraged to attend nurses’ informational picket on July 8 to hear directly from local nurses, ask questions, and share concerns and stories about their community’s healthcare.

Media members are encouraged to attend to capture the voices and stories of frontline nurses, healthcare workers and patients.

NOTE: An informational picket is not a strike or work stoppage. It is a demonstration of solidarity and an opportunity to educate the public about their community’s healthcare.  

Oregon Nurses Association Statement On Passage Of HR 1: “A Cruel And Calculated Attack On Oregon Families” -07/03/25

Eastern Oregonians Rally In Baker City To Stop Cuts To SNAP And Medicaid (Photo) -07/02/25

Crowd tells U.S. Rep. Cliff Bentz “It’s not too late to change your vote!”

BAKER CITY, Ore. — Nearly 100 Eastern Oregon residents braved 100-degree temperatures to rally in downtown Baker City today, demanding that U.S. Rep. Cliff Bentz vote no on the budget reconciliation bill that passed the Senate earlier this week. The legislation would slash $1 trillion from Medicaid and SNAP, terminating health coverage for tens of thousands in Bentz’s district and cutting food assistance for working families, children, and seniors.

Oregon Nurses Association President Tamie Cline, a registered nurse from Hermiston and president of the Oregon Nurses Association, said the bill threatens coverage for as many as 60,000 Eastern Oregon residents who rely on the Oregon Health Plan, Oregon’s Medicaid program. Cline said the proposal would devastate rural health care systems and put lives at risk in communities like Baker City that have already lost maternity care services.

“This is not about politics, this isn’t about what political party you support. This is about Eastern Oregon,” Cline said. “It’s about whether families here can see a doctor, afford their prescriptions, and get the care they need, when they need it.”

Cline was joined by speakers from the Oregon Food Bank, Partners for a Hunger-Free Oregon, SEIU, Indivisible, and local residents who rely on the safety net programs now under threat.

“SNAP puts food on the table for one in six families in Baker County,” said Alex Aghdaei of Partners for a Hunger-Free Oregon. “This bill would slash benefits, terminate food assistance for over 100,000 Oregonians, and push more kids and seniors into hunger. Cutting SNAP doesn’t lower food costs — it just makes people go without. Bentz needs to vote no.”

Lindsay Grosvenor of the Oregon Food Bank’s Southeast Oregon region emphasized the stakes for rural communities. “In places like Ontario and Burns, there’s no backup plan if SNAP gets gutted,” said Grosvenor. “Food pantries are already stretched to the limit. Families are doing everything they can to make ends meet. This bill punishes people for being poor. And it will hurt rural Oregon the most.”

Public opinion strongly reflects the concerns raised by rallygoers. According to the latest KFF Health Tracking Poll, 83 percent of Americans view Medicaid favorably, and support for the proposed cuts drops by more than 20 points when people learn they would increase the uninsured rate and reduce hospital funding. And 7 in 10 say they are concerned that families will have trouble affording food as a result of the bill.

Cheryl Campbell, a homecare worker from LaGrande, said that cuts to Medicaid could impact other programs that Oregonians rely on. “One thing people don’t realize is that many programs that make a big difference in the lives of people with developmental disabilities receive two-thirds of their funding from Medicaid dollars,” she said.

Despite widespread opposition from providers, patients, and public health experts, Bentz has continued to support the legislation — voting for it once already. Advocates warned that his next vote could come as early as this week.

“This is the moment,” Cline said in her closing remarks. “Eastern Oregon has always looked out for its own, and we’re proving it again today. We need to flood Bentz’s office with calls. We need to tell our stories. And we need to remind him who he works for.”

The Oregon Nurses Association (ONA) represents a diverse community of more than 24,000 nurses and healthcare professionals throughout Oregon. Together, we use our collective power to advocate for critical issues impacting patients, nurses and healthcare professionals including a more effective, affordable and accessible healthcare system; better working conditions for all healthcare professionals; and healthier communities. For more information, visit www.OregonRN.org.

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MEDIA ADVISORY: EASTERN OREGON RESIDENTS, HEALTH CARE PROVIDERS, AND UNION LEADERS TO RALLY JULY 2 IN BAKER CITY AGAINST MEDICAID & SNAP CUTS -07/01/25

WHEN:

• Senate Republicans’ rushed and reckless Medicaid cuts will terminate health coverage for Oregonians on the Oregon Health Plan, raise everyone’s costs, and close rural hospitals.

• Their SNAP cuts would gut the program and slash $160 from a typical family’s food budget, and strip benefits from 108,000 Oregonians outright.

• Cliff Bentz has a chance to protect Oregon’s most vulnerable by voting NO as the bill returns to the House for a final vote this week. Eastern Oregonians are calling on him to do the right thing.

Workplace Violence Bill Passes The Oregon House And Senate, Heads To Governor’s Desk -06/26/25

ONA Statement On The U.S. Supreme Court’s Decision In United States V. Skrmetti -06/18/25

(PORTLAND, Ore.) - The Oregon Nurses Association (ONA) is deeply disappointed by the U.S. Supreme Court’s decision to uphold Tennessee’s ban on gender-affirming care for minors. This ruling directly contradicts the overwhelming medical consensus and disregards decades of scientific research supporting this care as safe, effective, and lifesaving.

Gender-affirming care, including puberty blockers and hormone therapy, is endorsed by every major medical organization in the United States, including the American Academy of Pediatrics, American Medical Association, American Psychological Association, and the Endocrine Society. These treatments have been shown to significantly reduce depression, anxiety, and suicidality in transgender youth. One peer-reviewed study published in JAMA Pediatrics found that access to puberty blockers during adolescence was associated with a 73% lower risk of suicidality in transgender adults.

Further research from The Lancet and Pediatrics confirms that timely access to gender-affirming care improves mental health outcomes and overall well-being for transgender youth, while bans like Tennessee’s lead to measurable harm, including increased psychological distress and suicide risk.

ONA believes that all young people deserve access to medically necessary care, free from political interference. Today’s decision is not based on science, public health, or the well-being of children; it is rooted in ideology, and it places vulnerable youth at serious risk. 

 
ONA will continue to advocate for healthcare grounded in evidence for every patient, in every community.

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Media Advisory: RNs, Pros & Techs Of Legacy Unity Center To Rally Today, June 17 -06/17/25

For over a year, ONA members have bargained with management at Legacy Unity Center for Behavioral Health, but they still haven’t reached a fair contract. Due to the slow pace of negotiations, RNs, pros and techs (e.g. clinical social workers, behavioral health technicians, therapists) are making their concerns public and holding a rally to raise community awareness. 

When: Tuesday, June 17, 2025
Rally and Sign Waving from 4:30-6:30 p.m.
ONA-represented employees of Unity will be available for interviews
 

Where: Sidewalks near Legacy Unity Center
1225 NE 2nd Ave, Portland

Why: The care provided at Unity Center is essential to patients and their loved ones throughout Oregon. People come from across the state and SW Washington for psychiatric and mental health treatment. The specialized care means that caregivers at Unity Center treat adults and adolescents with the most complex needs. High-quality treatment enables patients to return to their homes and communities and keeping everyone safe. However, management’s lack of respect and hostility at the bargaining table have left workers demoralized.

Registered nurses (RNs) are bargaining a successor agreement. In addition to asking for respect from management, they are also asking for improvements to education funds, wages and differentials, health and safety, and staffing.

The pro and tech unit includes clinical social workers, crisis intervention specialists, therapists, behavioral health technicians and other essential employees. These workers need Legacy management to recognize the vital role they play, address wage and differential increases, education funds, health and safety, safe work assignments, and more. This will be their first contract.

ONA members will return to the bargaining table the week of June 23.

After opening in 2017, Unity Center was the subject of multiple Oregon Health Authority (OHA) investigations, which uncovered problems that jeopardized patient safety and threatened Unity’s federal health care certifications. Unity Center was also fined by Oregon’s Occupational Health and Safety Administration for violating safety rules and faced several lawsuits by people who said they were retaliated against or ignored after alerting management to safety issues. 

The Oregon Nurses Association (ONA) represents a diverse community of more than 23,000 nurses and healthcare professionals throughout Oregon. Together, we use our collective power to advocate for critical issues impacting patients, nurses and healthcare professionals including a more effective, affordable and accessible healthcare system; better working conditions for all healthcare professionals; and healthier communities. For more information visit www.OregonRN.org.

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ONA: Statement On Providence Layoffs -06/13/25

(PORTLAND, Ore.) - The Oregon Nurses Association (ONA) issued the following statement in response to Providence's announcement that it is laying off 600 workers systemwide. 

"Providence’s announcement of layoffs, including clinic staff in Seaside, OR, continues the harmful disinvestment in rural healthcare in Oregon. Providence’s misguided reduction in nursing staff once again proves its priorities need to be reexamined. Layoffs lead to reduced quality of care, short staffing, unsafe patient loads, and a deterioration of care. At a time of unprecedented attacks on our healthcare system from the federal government—especially for rural Oregonians—Providence should be working to help solve the problem, not inflaming it.

Making matters worse is Providence’s public statement which blames the layoffs, in part, on Oregon’s historic safe staffing law.

Let’s be clear: Providence was part of the coalition that passed hospital nurse safe staffing legislation in Oregon in 2023. The law mandates safer nurse-to-patient ratios to address a crisis that led to nurse burnout, unsafe patient loads, and preventable harm across Oregon. Providence blaming a law which does not apply to clinics as the reason for its layoffs is not only nonsensical and disingenuous; it is dangerous.

Providence is a $30 billion corporation which pays its top executives 7 and 8 figure salaries and has ample resources to meet safe staffing standards. Their decision to reduce frontline caregivers in rural Oregon while protecting executive salaries and profits is a deliberate choice, not a financial necessity. Providence patients and our rural communities deserve better. Our caregivers deserve better. 

ONA calls on Providence to reverse these harmful layoffs, fully comply with safe staffing standards, and engage in good-faith dialogue with their workers to build a healthcare system that puts care—not cost-cutting or profits—at its center."

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