

IN FEBRUARY 2016,
staff
from the Grande Ronde Hospital (GRH)
Laboratory and Community Relations
departments organized, promoted and
staffed free community blood draws on
three Saturdays.
Testing was offered for those blood tests
allowable by the state of Oregon without a
physician’s order. No appointments were
necessary, and final results were either
mailed directly to patients or electronically
submitted to their personal patient records
in their GRH MyHealth portal accounts.
More than $200 worth of screenings
was offered to the public for free. Tests
performed were hemoglobin and hematocrit counts (a red
blood cell screening for anemia/polycythemia); a cardiac lipid
panel, including cholesterol, HDL, LDL and triglycerides; and
glucose screening to evaluate blood sugar.
A record number of people served
Twenty-four people in Elgin took advantage of the free service
when testing was offered at the Elgin Community Center on
Feb. 6. On Feb. 20, staff set up a draw site at the S.E. Miller
School, Union, where 36 people came to have their blood
drawn. The final draw took place at the Union County Senior
Center, La Grande, on Feb. 27. A total of 56 people came out
that day. In all, 116 people took advantage of the free blood
draws.
Being able to reach 116 people with potentially lifesaving
diagnostics was a huge success. In years past, GRH offered
these screenings at an annual health fair and charged a small
fee to cover the cost of the testing kit—which, at $25, was still
a great deal for $200 worth of lab testing. Historically, we aver-
aged only 25 to 30 people each year. This time, the Community
Benefit program offset the cost of the kits and staffing to make
these tests free to participants.
Health Needs Assessment Task Force
2015 GRANDE RONDE HOSPITAL COMMUNITY BENEFIT
Center for Human
Development
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Susie Cederholm
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Dwight Dill
City of La Grande
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Robert Strope
Community Connection
of Northeast Oregon
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Carmen Pearson
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Frank Thomas
Community Member
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Stacy Shown
Elgin Family Health Clinic
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Daryl Howes
Grande Ronde Hospital
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Patty Morris
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TammyWinde
La Grande School District
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JessicaWarfield
GRH blood draw at Elgin Community
Center on Feb. 6, 2016
Community
comes
out for
free blood
draws
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Carrie Brogoitti
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Teri Champlin
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Rhonda Culley
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Mardi Ford
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Libby Goben, Chair
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Heidi Halsey
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Suzanne Hopper
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Mary Koza
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JimMattes
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Wendy Roberts
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Lindsay Rynearson
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Dave Selinsky
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WadeWeis
Grande Ronde Hospital
Community Benefit Subcommittee