Elgin Family Health Center to Change Hours

Beginning Oct. 1, the Elgin Family Health Center will change its hours to be open only from 8:30 a.m. to 4 p.m. Tuesdays, and 8:30 a.m. to 5 p.m. Fridays.

Since 1998, the Elgin center has been staffed and managed by Oregon Health & Science University’s School of Nursing at Eastern Oregon University. However, as the nation’s and Oregon’s workforce of available health care professionals has steadily dropped, it has become increasingly difficult to keep the clinic, like many other rural clinics, properly staffed and opened to meet patient needs.

"We’ve worked since February to hire the needed professionals to staff the clinic," says Carol Ledbetter, Ph.D., associate dean and professor, OHSU School of Nursing. "To maintain the best standards and service for patients in Elgin, we’ve had to reduce hours and draw upon other resources, putting a strain on all of OHSU’s clinics and school in Eastern Oregon. We’ve had no choice but to consolidate in order to ensure the best quality service for all patients in the region."

During the last month, OHSU and School of Nursing staff met with Elgin’s mayor and city manager, as well as with OHSU's Oregon Office of Rural Health to discuss these staffing challenges.

"We’re all sorry this is necessary," continued Ledbetter. "It’s clearly a part of the larger problems affecting health care nationwide. We’ve known workforce issues would have an impact on all of health care, particularly in rural locations. This is a clear indication of why OHSU and other academic health centers around the country are increasing their education programs to meet the growing need of keeping qualified health care professionals available in rural areas."

The Elgin Health Center serves a combined area population of 2,000. Nearby clinics also operated by OHSU are located in Union and in La Grande.