April 22, 2020 10:50 a.m.
Emergency health care centers should curb COVID-19 according to a release from the Oregon Office of Emergency Management.
Oregon’s interagency facility support team, led by the Department of Human Services and Oregon Health Authority has begun deploying two designated COVID-19 emergency centers. The release said they are intended to:
*Support long-term care facilities in crisis with rising infections.
*Care for residents of facilities with only a few cases of the virus to reduce the chance that others could be exposed.
*Provide hospitalized COVID-19 patients with a place to recover before returning to the long-term care facility where they live.
The release said the state has contracted with Pacific Health and Rehabilitation to open an emergency health care center at its 50-bed nursing facility in Tigard, which has begun to accept patients. Laurelhurst Village Rehab in Portland, which has 47 beds, was the first emergency care center to open.
The release said the additional capacity will be a significant step towards helping to fulfill one of the requirements outlined in Governor Brown’s framework for reopening Oregon.