Cascade Health

Today we commemorate Juneteenth. On June 19, 1865, Union troops arrived in Galveston, Texas, with the news that the more than 250,000 enslaved Black people in the state were free. This day came to be known as Juneteenth and marks the end of one of the darkest chapters in our country’s history - while also celebrating African American resilience and achievement. It's a moment to reflect on progress made as well as on the work still ahead. At Cascade Health, we’re committed to advancing a culture of diversity, equity, inclusion and belonging, and we’re excited to have a team moving us forward in just this way.

Looking for a local way to celebrate? Until 7 p.m. tonight, join the Juneteenth celebration at the Farmers Market Pavilion for food, music, games and art, all celebrating the richness and strength of the Black community.

Happy CNA Week to all of Cascade Health's top-notch Certified Nursing Assistants. Your dedication, compassion and hard work make such a difference in the lives of patients and their families. Thank you for always going above and beyond to turn "making life better" into more than just a slogan. You are truly appreciated!

Happy Pride Month! Cascade Health employees dressed in their rainbow best yesterday to celebrate the contributions and spirit of the LGBTQ+ community, the fight for equality, and everyone who has worked - and is still working - to make our world a welcoming, affirming and inclusive place for all.

Our June Death Café is coming up tomorrow (Wednesday) from 6-7:30 p.m. at The Esther at Riverbend Assisted Living. Join us in a safe space to explore and normalize how we think about death so that we can better enjoy every moment of life. Questions? Email Tara at [email protected].

School's out this week for many local districts, which means now is the perfect time to brush up on some tips to keep your kids safe and healthy over summer vacation. Summer is the time to make memories, so let's make sure all those memories are good ones! 🌞🏖🎆

We can’t think of a better way to celebrate Hand Therapy Week than by ensuring people passionate about the profession can continue to practice it. In our latest blog post, you'll learn about Shea Caddel, a graduate student at Samuel Merritt University who hopes to become a hand therapist. He's in the middle of a 12-week fieldwork placement with Cascade Health Physical & Hand Therapy clinic and says, “I already feel like I’ve learned an immense amount.”

Training the Next Generation of Hand Therapists — Cascade Health We can’t think of a better way to celebrate Hand Therapy Week than by ensuring people passionate about the profession can continue to practice it. The Cascade Health Physical & Hand Therapy clinic is proud to work with students like Shea, who is earning his master’s degree in occupational th

It was great to see so many smiling faces at Garden Way Retirement Community last week for "Ask a Physical Therapist," where residents chatted with Cascade Health PT Aurora Martin and had a chance to check their blood pressure. Does your organization have questions a physical therapist - or other Cascade Health clinician - could answer? Contact Business Development Manager Tara Hubbird at [email protected] to set up a presentation or visit.

From eating cereal in the morning to scrolling through social media in the evening, your hands are busy all day. Because hands are so vital to our lives, it's especially devastating when our use of them is compromised. The Cascade Health Hand Therapy team works with patients one-on-one to develop a customized treatment plan that gets them back to doing the things they love. Especially during Hand Therapy Week, we can't sing their praises loudly enough! 💚💜

Thank you to everyone who joined us Friday at Pete Moore Hospice House for the Gathering of Remembrance. Through a reading of names and a fire ceremony, we honored not only loved ones lost but also the grief that comes with their passing - and the healing that can be found in community. Beautiful music was provided by Buck Mueller and the Eugene Threshold Singers. It was our honor to help bear witness to the lives of so many wonderful, deeply missed loved ones.

There's nothing like a delicious ice cream sandwich when it's warm and sunny outside! Thank you, Lone Oak Assisted Living Community, for letting us add a taste of summer to your day.

At the Pete Moore Hospice House, we are honored to provide end-of-life care to community members who have given so much to others. Frank was the “glue” of his family - and, when he came to the hospice house, his room was filled with family members and friends. “I think the home setting provides the comfort that families need," said Frank's sister-in-law Cheryl. Read more about Frank and his family at cascadehealth.org/all-blogs/honoring-lives-at-pete-moore-hospice-house.

On Memorial Day, we remember and honor the service members who made the ultimate sacrifice for our country. It's also a day to recommit ourselves to honoring their legacy of those we've lost by supporting and uplifting the veterans still with us. This quilt, made by a Cascade Health volunteer, was presented to veteran John Cain, a resident of Garden Way Retirement Community, this month. Through our work with the We Honor Veterans program and beyond, we're honored to do our part to recognize the sacrifices of those who served.

Are you planning a summer getaway? Cascade Travel Health provides personalized preventive care and recommendations to ensure you’re prepared, including vaccines and prescriptions to help you avoid malaria, hepatitis and other common illnesses encountered abroad. Visit cascadehealth.org/travel-health/about to find out more, or call 541-228-3096 to schedule an appointment.

Our business development team had a blast - and shot some hoops - at the third annual Eugene Boomerama Expo on Saturday. Great resources for seniors, a great showing by community partners - all around a great day!

Cascade Health EAP (Employee Assistance Program) loves partnering with Eugene Water & Electric Board during Mental Health Awareness Month to empower EWEB's 650+ employees. The month's offerings include short mental health “check-in" videos by Cascade Health EAP staff, initiatives like the Grand Adventure Walking Challenge, and a Mental Health Day of Action with in-person and virtual sessions led by Cascade Health’s counselors.

Check out our latest blog post to read more about this great partnership - and visit cascadehealth.org/counseling-eap to learn more about EAP services for your business.

Cascade Health-EWEB Partnership Boosts Employee Wellness — Cascade Health Empowering Employees During Mental Health Awareness Month Cascade Health’s Employee Assistance Program (EAP) is proud to partner with Eugene Water & Electric Board (EWEB) during Mental Health Awareness Month this May. EWEB’s core values demonstrate their year-round commitment to supporting

Yesterday's Employee Appreciation Breakfast was a home run! Cascade Health employees are truly a team, and we're blown away every day by our fellow team members' dedication, professionalism, empathy and talent. To everyone who puts their heart into caring for our community: THANK YOU. 💙🧡💚💜

We're going green for Mental Health Awareness Month! Cascade Health employees showed off their best green clothes, ribbons and even water bottles yesterday to support mental health awareness. We are so grateful for the work our Counseling & EAP team does every day to support our community's mental health and wellness.

Thanks to volunteer Holly Knight and generous donations from Wild Birds Unlimited, Pete Moore Hospice House patients can now enjoy Oregon's plethora of bird life without leaving the house's garden. Wild Birds has supplied more than $600 in feeders and seeds to draw our feathered friends to the area. We know our patients will love watching the goldfinches, sparrows, and more stop by for a snack.

Thank you, Three Rivers Foundation! Hospice physician Dr. Kyle Kurzet and Pete Moore Hospice House Manager Alicia Peacor were honored to attend last week's Foundation Luncheon at Three Rivers Casino Resort to accept a grant of nearly $5,000. The funds will enable us to purchase the ultrasound machine necessary to perform procedures that increase the comfort of our hospice patients. We're so grateful to the Three Rivers Foundation for its support in offering the highest quality of care to our community members nearing end-of-life.

Cascade Health wellness nurse Mary Joy Sahara loves the variety of her job – and the variety of ways in which she can help people. One day she's holding a flu vaccine clinic and the next she's doing biometric testing for employees of one of the local businesses served by our Occupational Health department. In her role with Cascade Travel Health, she provides vaccine recommendations and suggestions for avoiding altitude sickness, food/water contamination, mosquito bites and more.

Mary Joy’s favorite aspect of her work is biometric testing, which captures data on cholesterol, glucose, triglycerides, body mass index and other health markers. “I just love educating folks on what their lab numbers mean,” she says. “It’s rewarding to watch their numbers improve with small but mighty changes.”

"It is an honor to be with someone on this sacred journey,” says hospice nurse Tamara Sharoff about her work with hospice patients and their families. “The goal is to keep the patient comfortable and help them achieve the end-of-life journey they want.”

During National Nurses Week, we celebrate Tamara and her fellow hospice nurses for the compassion, understanding, and depth of experience they bring to their jobs every day. As an RN Case Manager, Tamara follows patients throughout their time on hospice, serving as an advocate and supporting the family. She’s often on the go, seeing patients in their home or care center.

“Being able to help the patient and family find solutions to problems and begin to feel safe is very gratifying,” she says. As a natural nurturer, she was drawn to hospice work because of the solace and comfort it offers.

Thank you, Tamara – and thank you to our whole hospice team for bringing comfort and peace to so many patients on the final steps of their journey.

Thank you to Junction City Retirement and Assisted Living Community for hosting last week's grilled cheese networking event! There's nothing better than warm, melty cheese and good company when it's gray outside. It was great to catch up with colleagues from Right at Home, Visiting Angels, River Grove, the Eugene Hotel, Solvang Retirement Living, and more.

To celebrate National Nurses Week, we’re highlighting some of the amazing nurses at Cascade Health whose skill, experience, and compassion touch patients’ lives every day. In multiple departments – hospice, home health, travel health and wellness – nurses are the backbone of our clinical teams.

Today, we’re spotlighting Christine Martin, a home health nurse who, despite being relatively new to Cascade Health, is already making an impact. Her favorite part of nursing is “building relationships with my patients in which they feel they can rely on me to help them achieve their health goals.” She's honored when patients trust her guidance, “knowing it comes from a place of knowledge and love."

Christine is also grateful that her recent move from a hospital setting to Cascade Home Health allows her to spend more time with patients, helping them “feel seen and understood.” She believes strongly that “understanding a patient’s history is one of the best ways I can assist them in achieving their goals.” We are so lucky to have Christine on our patient-focused Home Health team!

It was amazing to see so many great community partners at yesterday's Homes for Good's Whole Health Resource Fair. The Cascade Health table was stocked up on healthy-but-sweet snacks!

During Mental Health Awareness Month, take an inventory of how you deal with stress. "One of the things I encourage everyone to create is a list of five healthy activities they can do to self-soothe when experiencing difficult emotions," says Jodi DePaoli, LPC, Manager of Counseling & EAP at Cascade Health. Read more in Jodi's blog post!

Five Things — Cascade Health May is Mental Health Awareness Month

Cascade Health's Counseling & EAP department is offering an innovative ten-week program to boost your self-esteem, productivity and joy. Our counselors' techniques can help you change the way you think, feel and behave - for the better. See details below or email [email protected] to schedule a pre-screen interview.

As we wrap up Volunteer Appreciation Month, it's time to give a special shoutout to the amazing folks at Crafting Change.

Tiffany Herbert, a passionate advocate for community engagement who was born and raised in Eugene, founded Crafting Change in March 2021 with the purpose of acting as a matchmaker, ensuring handmade items from makers find their way to those who need them most. Tiffany established the nonprofit as a platform for volunteers to contribute to purpose-driven projects, focusing on working with marginalized and underserved communities. Since its inception, Crafting Change has donated nearly 200,000 handcrafted items across the world to over 100 charitable organizations.

Inspired by her mother, Pat Bowman, a devoted Hearts for Hospice volunteer, Tiffany extended Crafting Change's reach to benefit those in hospice. With a generous grant from Hearts for Hospice, Crafting Change is now collaborating with Cascade Health’s Pete Moore Hospice House to create quilts for veterans. Not only does the veteran receive a meaningful gift during their time in care, but it also provides a treasured memory to the patient’s family. We’re honored to work with a group so full of compassion and commitment to community!

The Cascade Health team was at the Engage Eugene Parkinson's Health & Wellness Fair on Saturday, giving vaccines, blood pressure checks, and talking about our services. It was great to see so many community partners like Waterford Grand, BHS Pharmacy, and ADT Health!

How dedicated are our hospice volunteers? Just ask Gretchen Merten, who has been volunteering for over two decades! Gretchen started volunteering in 2001, and her husband, Fred, joined us in 2015. If you’re interested in a meaningful volunteer role offering community members care, compassion and comfort when they need it most, find out more at cascadehealth.org/volunteer.

Three cheers for our volunteers behind the scenes in Cascade Health’s hospice, palliative care and home health departments. At both Pete Moore Hospice House and our main Suzanne Way office, administrative volunteers like Alex support us by pitching in on mailings, event organization, front desk support, patient and family phone check-ins, paperwork and more. During Volunteer Appreciation Month and all year long, their hard work is invaluable.